Dear University of Waikato,
On 14 Feb 2022 the University’s COVID-19 vaccination policy was here
https://web.archive.org/web/202201171628...
"What it means for staff
Evidence of your Covid-19 vaccination (or exemption) will be held in Āku Mahi, and will be held in accordance with privacy legislation.

The University will engage with all staff who are yet to provide or who choose not to provide evidence of vaccination individually and in good faith. We understand that some staff have concerns related to vaccinations and we will talk with those staff to understand what their concerns are and what the impact of being unvaccinated may be on their role."

For the purposes of this request, the term “personnel” includes both Waikato 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 Waikato 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 Waikato 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 Waikato 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 Waikato University.

Yours faithfully,

Erika Whittome