14 August 2025
ASE
[FYI request #31314 email]
Tēnā koe ASE
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your email of 16 June 2025 requesting information about the
Ministry’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.
I have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Please find my decision on each part of your request set out separately below.
Some sections of your request are grouped together and answered in a different
order for clarity.
•
On what date(s) were the termination notices rescinded for affected
personnel? By what means were those terminations rescinded (e.g. email,
letter, verbal communication, etc)?
•
On what date did MSD formally decide to rescind the termination notices?
Please provide a timeline of internal decisions or communications that led
to this outcome.
During March 2022, new information and guidance was made available by the
Public Service Commission (Te Kawa Mataaho) and the Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment on COVID-19 Vaccination policies. Additionally, there
was new case law (
Yardley v Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety) and a
change in the Government’s COVID-19 Traffic Light System.
On 1 April 2022, based on this new guidance, the Ministry communicated the
decision to rescind all notices of termination that had previously been provided to
affected staff on 8 March 2022. This message was emailed to staff and also
communicated via the Ministry’s intranet, Doogle, to all staff members.
•
Were any external parties (e.g. Ministers, the Public Service Commission,
unions, or legal representatives) involved in discussions leading to the
rescindments? If so, please identify them and the nature of their
involvement.
The Aurora Centre, 56 The Terrace, PO Box 1556, Wellington
– Telephone 04-916 3300 – Facsimile 04-918 0099
•
Was legal advice sought by MSD before rescinding the terminations? If so,
on what date was that advice received, and from whom (e.g. Crown Law,
external counsel)?
As noted above, the Ministry was guided by the Public Service Commission and
discussed options with other public services agencies.
We also liaised with our legal providers and with our union partners. The Ministry
was in constant contact with its external legal advisors during this period. It took
advice from both Buddle Findlay and Samantha Turner, Barrister.
•
Did MSD issue any internal guidance or policy outlining the process for
implementing vaccine mandate-related terminations? If so, please provide
a copy of that policy.
•
Has MSD updated or revised its personnel policies since the termination
notices were rescinded? If so, please provide the current policy and indicate
the date changes were made.
No specific policy or guidance was issued other than the COVID-19 Vaccination
Policy itself. This policy is published on the Ministry’s website at the following link:
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/covid-19/msd-covid-19-
vaccination-policy.pdf. The Ministry has also previously released our COVID-19 Vaccination Policy
consultation documents under the Act. These are available at the following links:
• OIA Response Letter:
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-
work/publications-resources/official-information-
responses/2022/march/24-03-2022-information-relating-to-covid-19-
vaccination-policy-including-impacts-for-staff-members.pdf
• Ministry’s internal policy on assessing Health Safety and Security risks:
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-
resources/official-information-responses/2022/march/24-03-2022-
information-relating-to-covid-19-vaccination-policy-including-impacts-for-
staff-members-appendix-1-.pdf
• Vaccination Policy Consultation Decision Document dated 16 December
2021:
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-
work/publications-resources/official-information-
responses/2022/march/24-03-2022-information-relating-to-covid-19-
vaccination-policy-including-impacts-for-staff-members-appendix-2-.pdf.
Terminations were guided by the Ministry’s Disciplinary Policy which already
existed prior to the implementation of the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy. This is
attached as
Appendix One.
The Ministry has updated several personnel policies since 2020. However, none of
these changes are a result of the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and process.
•
How many affected personnel remained engaged at MSD, including those
whose termination notices were rescinded before their engagement ended?
Between 17 and 18 February 2022, the Ministry issued 215 preliminary decisions
to terminate to affected staff. Following a period of further discussions with
employees, approximately 150 decisions to terminate were issued on 8 March
2022. On 1 April 2022, based on the new guidance noted above, the Ministry
rescinded all notices of termination. As such, no employees working for the
Ministry on 1 April 2022 were terminated for breaching the COVID-19 Vaccination
Policy.
There were many outcomes for staff outside of termination. Of the 150 employees
mentioned, some staff chose to:
• vaccinate and had their notices rescinded
• leave during the notice period (notice in lieu) and prior notices being
rescinded
• retire
• subsequently return to work at the Ministry after having left
• carry on working at the Ministry after their notice was rescinded.
Of the approximately 150 employees who received a notice of termination, there
were 43 that left during the notice period, electing to take payment in lieu of notice.
Because they had already left and were no longer a Ministry employee on 1 April
2022, they did not have the notice to terminate rescinded. Of the 43:
• 3 requested to return to work (agreed to by the Ministry and their service
was treated as continuous)
• 5 requested to retire (agreed to by the Ministry and their reason for
departing was recorded as ‘retirement’).
• 35 neither retired nor returned to work for the Ministry.
As such, 110 employees who received notices of termination remained with the
Ministry.
•
How many affected personnel left MSD after receiving a termination notice
(regardless of whether they later reached settlement or reinstatement)?
•
How many of the affected personnel were working in each operational area
or departmental function (e.g. case management, IT, finance, HR, etc)?
Please provide this disaggregated by job title or function to the extent
reasonably practicable.
There were a total of 80 employees who left the Ministry, inclusive of the 43 noted
above. None of these employees were reinstated. These 80 employees were from
the following branches of the Ministry:
• 72 from Service Delivery
• 4 from People and Capability
• 2 from Strategy and Insights
• 2 from Organisational Assurance and Communication.
Further information on the branches of the Ministry is available on our website at
the following link:
www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/about-msd/our-
structure/index.html.
•
How many of the affected personnel were offered alternative positions,
roles, or accommodations (e.g. remote work, redeployment, or other
adjustments) as an alternative to termination? Please indicate whether such
offers were made before or after termination notices were issued.
All unvaccinated staff were afforded the opportunity to work from home
temporarily while an outcome was reached with the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.
As part of this process, individuals also worked with their managers to determine
with an alternative arrangement could be accommodated.
Some remained working from home post 1 April 2022 while the Vaccination Policy
was being reviewed. On 14 July 2022, the Ministry announced that it would move
to an “encourage but not require” policy around vaccination from 1 September
2022.
•
How many non-employee personnel (e.g. contractors, consultants, fixed-
term or temp agency staff) were subject to COVID-19 vaccine mandates or
termination notices by MSD? Were those termination notices rescinded?
Three contractors finished their contracts early due to the Ministry’s COVID-19
Vaccination Policy.
•
What was the total amount paid out by MSD to resolve matters with these
affected personnel, disaggregated (as far as reasonably practicable) into
categories, including:
o
back-pay
o
settlements
o
ex gratia payments
o
sick leave or annual leave entitlements paid out
o
any other categories of compensation or financial redress
•
Please also provide any contextual information necessary to interpret the
figures (e.g. timeframes of payments, possible overlap between categories,
or explanatory notes on classification methods used).
The Ministry settled grievances with 98 employees paying:
• $1,001,000 gross equivalent of wages
• Reinstating 301 days annual leave and 139.5 days sick leave
No annual leave or sick leave was paid out.
•
Were any MSD staff (e.g. HR, legal, or executive personnel) formally held
accountable or subject to any consequences in any relation to the decisions
that led to the terminations and their subsequent reversal?
•
If so, please specify the nature of any:
o
performance reviews
o
disciplinary action
o
internal investigations
o
role changes or demotions
o
resignations (voluntary or requested)
o
other forms of internal accountability or corrective response.
No Ministry staff were subject to any investigation or consequences following the
implementation and amendment of the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.
I will be publishing this decision letter, with your personal details deleted, on the
Ministry’s website in due course.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email]. If you are not satisfied with my decision on your request, you have the right to
seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to
make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
pp.
Anna Graham
General Manager
Ministerial and Executive Services
