Dear Lincoln University,
On or around December 15, 2021 the Vice Chancelor announced Lincoln University’s COVID-19 vaccination policy :

"Tēnā koutou
Lincoln University has decided to introduce mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations as a requirement for all students, staff, contractors, tenants and visitors to access campus, including all other university-owned farms and properties, from 14 February 2022.
This has been a carefully deliberated decision taken by the Senior Management Group (SMG) and Council, and reflects the University’s firm belief that the health and safety of our community come first. It is underpinned by a detailed risk assessment and university-wide consultation with students, staff, contractors and tenants, which had the
support of a majority of the Lincoln community."

For the purposes of this request, the term “personnel” includes both Lincoln University’s employees and non-employee workers, including contractors, consultants, fixed-term staff, and agency placements. When not explicitly limited to “employees”, the term “personnel” is implied and refers to this broader group.

1. In 2022 how many staff were terminated for failure to comply with the covid-19 vaccination policy?

2. How many affected personnel left Lincoln University before receiving a termination notice during the introduction of the vaccination policy?

3. How many of the affected personnel were working in each operational area or departmental function (e.g. management, registry, IT, finance, HR, etc)? Please provide this disaggregated by job title or function to the extent reasonably practicable.

4. 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.

5. What was the total amount paid out by Lincoln University to resolve matters with these affected personnel, disaggregated (as far as reasonably practicable) into categories, including:
* back-pay
* redundancy payments
* settlements
* ex gratia payments
* sick leave or annual leave entitlements paid out
* 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).

6. Were any external parties (e.g. Ministers, the Public Service Commission, Tertiary Commission , unions, or legal representatives) involved in the development of the vaccination policy leading to the terminations If so, please identify them and the nature of their involvement.

7. Did Lincoln University issue any internal guidance or policy outlining the process for implementing vaccine mandate-related terminations? If so, please provide a copy of that policy.

8. Please share the "detailed risk assessment" for workplaces at Lincoln University.

Yours faithfully,

Erika Whittome