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Occupational health · Risk-assessment led

Occupational health vaccination, done properly

Vaccination that follows from a risk assessment rather than a catalogue. We cover the immunisations your risk profile actually calls for, and evidence them for your file.

Occupational health vaccination is a legal and clinical exercise, not a shopping list. Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, biological agents are a substance hazardous to health, and where a risk assessment identifies exposure that cannot be adequately controlled by other means, an employer must make effective vaccines available to employees who are not already immune.

That obligation has two consequences people often miss. Vaccination follows the risk assessment, so it cannot be specified before the assessment is done. And where vaccination is indicated for the role, the employer funds it. It is not a benefit and it cannot be charged to the employee.

The vaccinations we deliver

VaccineTypically indicated forNotes
Hepatitis BRoles with exposure to blood or body fluids: healthcare, dental, laboratory, custodial, waste handling, tattooing, some care rolesThree-dose schedule, post-vaccination titre check recommended. Full detail here
InfluenzaAny workforce. Prioritised in health and social care, education and public-facing rolesAnnual. Our highest-volume service
Tetanus, diphtheria and polioGroundwork, agriculture, waste, constructionUsually a booster against existing UK schedule
MMRHealth and social care, education, laboratoryEvidence of two doses or positive serology
VaricellaHealth and social care staff without a definite history of chickenpoxSerology first, vaccinate if non-immune
Hepatitis ASewage and waste workers, some laboratory and care settingsOften combined with hepatitis B

Serology and titre checking

Vaccinating someone who is already immune wastes money, and assuming immunity without evidence leaves a gap in your file. For hepatitis B in particular, a post-vaccination antibody titre is the only way to know whether the course worked. Around 5 to 10% of adults do not mount an adequate response to a primary course, and non-responders need to be identified and managed rather than assumed protected.

We arrange serology alongside vaccination where the risk assessment calls for it, and record the result against the individual so your occupational health file shows immunity status rather than just doses given.

What you get for your file

An occupational health vaccination record is only useful if it evidences the right thing. Ours shows, per employee and in aggregate:

  • Doses administered with date, batch number and site.
  • Immunity status where serology has been carried out.
  • Declined and deferred, with reason category.
  • Outstanding doses and when they fall due.
  • Non-responders flagged for occupational health review.

You receive aggregate coverage data. Identifiable clinical detail stays with us as the registered pharmacy, because in most cases an employer has no lawful basis under UK GDPR to hold an employee's vaccination history or serology result. What you need to demonstrate compliance is that the programme was offered, delivered and evidenced, not the underlying clinical data.

Multi-dose schedules

Hepatitis B is a three-dose course over six months, with an accelerated schedule available where someone needs protection faster. That means return visits, and return visits are where programmes fall apart. We track the schedule per individual and tell you who is due before they fall out of window, rather than handing you a spreadsheet and wishing you luck.

Where we work

We run occupational health vaccination UK-wide from our London base. Demand is heaviest in London, but we attend sites nationally including Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Common questions

Does the employer have to pay for hepatitis B vaccination?

Where a COSHH risk assessment identifies occupational exposure to blood or body fluids and vaccination is the appropriate control, the employer must provide it at no cost to the employee. It cannot be charged to the worker or deducted from pay. Where vaccination is not indicated by the risk assessment, there is no such obligation.

What is the difference between occupational health vaccination and a flu jab?

Influenza vaccination is usually offered to the whole workforce as a health benefit. Occupational health vaccination follows from a risk assessment and addresses a hazard specific to the role, which brings a legal duty with it under COSHH.

Do you carry out antibody titre checks?

Yes. We arrange serology where the risk assessment calls for it, most commonly post-vaccination hepatitis B surface antibody testing, and record immunity status rather than just doses given.

How do you handle a three-dose schedule?

We track each individual's schedule and prompt for return visits before doses fall out of window. For new starters joining mid-programme we run catch-up rather than restarting the cohort.

Can you vaccinate our NHS or care home staff?

Yes. Health and social care is one of our core sectors. See our pages on care homes and on pharmaceutical and laboratory settings for the specifics.

What if an employee refuses a required vaccination?

Vaccination is always voluntary. Where a role carries genuine exposure risk and an employee declines, that becomes a risk management question for you and your occupational health adviser. We record the declination and flag it, and can advise on the clinical picture, but the employment decision is yours.

Start with a risk assessment conversation

Tell us the roles and exposures involved and we will tell you which immunisations are actually indicated, and which are not.

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