Can Employers Require Their Staff To Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19?

In the midst of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with vaccines being hailed as the only way to control the rising number of positive cases, a common question that we are often being asked is whether employers can request their staff's personal data in relation to their vaccination status, and whether/how the employer can store such personal data.

The Office for the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (the 'IDPC') has published guidelines on the data protection aspects related to the collection of employees' COVID-19 vaccination status (the 'Guidelines'). This article will briefly explain the Guidelines, and shall attempt to answer certain questions which should be on every employer's mind.