Vaccinations for your job
Occupational health vaccinations: who needs what, and who should pay
Nurses, care staff, lab technicians, vets, sewage and refuse crews, overseas contractors and students on placement are all asked for different jabs and different paperwork. Our pharmacists in Timperley, Altrincham fill the gaps and give you the records to prove it.
Answer first
Which vaccinations do I need for my job?
It depends on what you are exposed to, not your job title. Anyone who could meet blood or body fluids is offered a hepatitis B course: nurses, dentists and phlebotomists as a matter of course, tattooists and embalmers because the job involves needles, and care staff who use lancets after an occupational health risk assessment. Healthcare and laboratory staff then have a blood test to show the course worked. Patient-facing roles also need evidence of MMR and chickenpox immunity, a flu jab each autumn and sometimes a TB assessment. Sewage, drainage and flood-response workers need hepatitis A. Vets, quarantine kennel staff and anyone who handles bats need the rabies pre-exposure course. And everyone, whatever the role, should be up to date with tetanus, diphtheria and polio.
The part employers and staff often get wrong: under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the COSHH regulations, your employer must assess biological risks and then arrange and pay for the immunisations that assessment calls for. It is written into the Green Book. So your first stop is normally occupational health. We cover the gaps: a start date that lands before the OH appointment, a self-employed vet or locum, an agency carer between contracts, a student whose placement wants an antibody result by Monday, or a Cheshire contractor flying out of Manchester Airport on a project the company OH team does not cover.
Below, role by role, is what is usually asked for and why, what a certificate of immunity actually means, and how we fit around shifts at our GPhC-registered pharmacy on Stockport Road, Timperley. Products and timings are confirmed at your consultation.
Who pays for what
Employer obligation or private top-up? Be clear which one you are buying
If a vaccine is needed because of a risk in your work, the law expects your employer to provide it through occupational health, free to you. That applies to NHS trusts, care providers, water companies, veterinary practices and laboratories alike. We will say so before taking payment.
A private appointment earns its place when you are self-employed or agency, the start date beats the OH slot, a university has told you to sort it yourself, a course was abandoned years ago, or you need a written antibody result quickly. Many Trafford and Manchester employers reimburse a pharmacy invoice, so ask first and keep the receipt. Businesses paying for several staff can be invoiced directly.
By vaccine
The occupational vaccines we give most often
Tap a tile for the full vaccine page. These notes explain the work angle rather than the travel one; your exact schedule is agreed at the consultation.
Hepatitis B
Healthcare / exposure-prone
The core occupational vaccine. At least three doses, faster when a start date is close, then an antibody test one to four months after the last dose. Known responders do not normally need boosters.
Hepatitis A
Food / sewage / water
For anyone repeatedly exposed to raw sewage, including flood first-responders, some microbiology laboratory roles and people who work with primates. Two doses protect for at least 25 years.
Tetanus
Outdoor / wound risk
Given as the combined tetanus, diphtheria and polio booster. Soil, manure, animals, sharp tools and dirty wounds all count, and clinical and laboratory staff are expected to be current.
Typhoid
Lab / sewage
Rarely occupational in the UK: the Green Book lists it only for laboratory staff working with the organism. Otherwise it arises when a posting takes you somewhere typhoid is common.
Rabies
Animal / lab handlers
Pre-exposure course for bat handlers (paid or volunteer), quarantine premises staff, at-risk veterinary and technical staff, and rabies laboratory workers. Three doses into the upper arm; boosters depend on ongoing exposure.
Tuberculosis (BCG / TB test)
Healthcare / high-risk
Not routine in the UK. Arises for health workers in contact with TB patients, microbiology and pathology technicians and some vet and abattoir roles, usually after a skin test and always on OH advice.
Seasonal Flu
Frontline staff
Every autumn for anyone directly involved in patient care, as much to protect vulnerable patients as yourself. Employers should offer it; we catch the staff who miss the works clinic.
MMR
Healthcare
Patient-facing roles must show two recorded doses or positive measles and rubella antibodies. With no childhood record, a catch-up course is often quicker than waiting for a blood test.
Healthcare & care workers
What does a hepatitis B antibody check actually prove?
Hospitals, dental practices, care homes and community teams across Trafford ask new starters for the same three things: a completed hepatitis B course with evidence you responded, proof of MMR and chickenpox immunity, and a TB assessment. The antibody test is the part people misunderstand. Taken one to four months after the last dose, it measures the antibody your body made and tells your employer how to manage you after a needlestick. A good level means no more doses; a modest level means one extra; no response means a repeat course. Tested too early, the result is meaningless, so we are fussy about timing.
- Hepatitis B course plus post-course antibody test
- Two recorded MMR doses, or positive measles and rubella antibodies
- Chickenpox: a definite history counts; if unsure, blood test first, vaccine only if antibody-negative
- Flu each autumn for anyone with direct patient contact
- TB screening or BCG decided by occupational health
- Just had a needlestick, bite or blood splash? That is urgent, not a routine booking — report it and be assessed the same day by occupational health, an urgent GP appointment or A&E
Laboratory & clinical-waste staff
Do lab technicians and clinical-waste handlers need different cover?
Yes, and it is more than hepatitis B. The Green Book treats laboratory, pathology and mortuary staff, plus the porters, cleaners and receptionists beside them, as a group of their own. Everyone should be current on tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR; hepatitis B applies to anyone handling blood, tissues or material that may carry the virus. Staff who regularly handle faecal specimens are advised a polio-containing booster every ten years, and microbiology and pathology technicians are on the BCG list. Hepatitis A, typhoid and rabies are reserved for people who work with that specific organism. Clinical-waste and sharps-bin crews around Manchester sit at the needlestick end, so hepatitis B and tetanus are the usual request.
- Routine: tetanus, diphtheria, polio and two MMR doses
- Hepatitis B for contact with blood, tissues or potentially infected material
- Ten-yearly polio booster if you regularly handle faecal specimens
- Organism-specific vaccines only where you work with that pathogen
- Clinical-waste collection: hepatitis B plus current tetanus
Sewage, water & refuse
Why do sewage and drainage workers need hepatitis A?
Raw, untreated sewage frequently carries hepatitis A virus, and a UK study found regular exposure to it was an independent risk factor for infection. So the Green Book recommends hepatitis A for workers repeatedly exposed to raw sewage, including flood first-responders, identified by a local risk assessment. Water-company contractors, drainage engineers and council waste crews around Trafford are the people we see. Tetanus matters as much: contaminated soil and cuts from tools are everyday hazards. Refuse and recycling crews who regularly find discarded needles should be assessed for hepatitis B; where exposure is frequent, vaccination before any incident is recommended.
- Hepatitis A: two doses, at least 25 years of protection
- Tetanus, diphtheria and polio booster if you cannot show five doses
- Hepatitis B where the assessment shows frequent contact with discarded needles
- Bring the risk assessment and we will match it, not over-vaccinate
Vets, animal handlers & bat workers
Who needs the rabies pre-exposure course in the UK?
The UK is free of rabies in land animals, but rabies-related viruses have been found in some UK bats, which is why bat handlers, including volunteers with local bat groups, are on the list. Pre-exposure vaccination is also recommended for staff at Defra-authorised quarantine premises, veterinary and technical staff whose work raises their risk, and laboratory staff handling the virus. The course is three injections into the upper arm over about four weeks, faster if time is short. Bat handlers should have a reinforcing dose a year later, then boosters every three to five years or as a blood test guides. A bite, scratch or lick on broken skin still needs urgent NHS assessment the same day — post-exposure treatment is arranged through NHS services rather than here — but that treatment is simpler once you have had the pre-exposure course.
- Bat handlers, quarantine kennel staff, at-risk vets and vet nurses, rabies lab workers
- Three intramuscular doses, typically over 21 to 28 days
- Booster at one year, then every three to five years for ongoing exposure
- Bitten or scratched? Wash the wound at once and seek urgent NHS care the same day, even if fully vaccinated
Overseas contractors & postings
What if the job itself is abroad?
Site supervisors on a Gulf build, engineers commissioning a plant in West Africa, teachers on an international school contract, oil and gas rotations, charity placements: once the work leaves the UK, the vaccine list follows the destination and length of stay, not the trade. Typically that means hepatitis A and typhoid across much of Asia, Africa and Latin America, hepatitis B for longer contracts, rabies for remote sites or animal contact, and yellow fever for two separate reasons we always check apart — because the area itself carries a transmission risk, and because some countries demand a certificate before they will let you in. There is no malaria vaccine, so malaria areas need antimalarial tablets plus nightly bite avoidance — repellent, covered skin after dusk and a treated net — with the tablets chosen at the consultation. We see plenty of this from the Manchester Airport commuter belt across Hale, Wilmslow and Knutsford, often at short notice, and the employer's duty of care travels with you.
- Vaccines chosen from TravelHealthPro country guidance, not a fixed list
- Registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre: certificate issued on the day, valid from ten days after the dose and for life
- Antimalarial tablets plus bite avoidance for malaria regions, and any fever within a year of coming home needs same-day medical assessment — say where you have been
- Evening and Sunday appointments; business invoicing for whole crews
Students on placement
My placement wants proof by next week. What now?
Nursing, midwifery, medical, dental, paramedic, physiotherapy and radiography students fall under the same Green Book advice as qualified staff, and Manchester's universities normally run this through their own occupational health service before the first placement. Problems arise when a course started at 18 was never finished, records from abroad cannot be traced, the OH slot falls after the placement starts, or an overseas elective adds travel vaccines. We resume an unfinished hepatitis B course rather than restart it, arrange the antibody test, give MMR or chickenpox where records are missing, and document it all for the placement office. US campuses have their own forms, covered on our university admission page.
- Unfinished hepatitis B courses are resumed, not repeated
- Antibody test one to four months after the last hepatitis B dose
- MMR and chickenpox catch-up where childhood records are missing
- Signed record for your placement or university OH file
Paperwork
What employer paperwork can we provide?
Occupational health teams want evidence, not a till receipt. This is what leaves the clinic with you.
A dated vaccination record
Vaccine name, batch, dose number and date for every injection, signed by the pharmacist, ready for an OH file or electronic staff record.
Certificate of immunity
Where proof of response is needed, we arrange the hepatitis B antibody test at the right interval and give you the result in writing. Measles, rubella and chickenpox antibodies likewise.
Course-completion letter
For courses spread across providers or countries: we collate what you can evidence, complete the missing doses and confirm the finish date.
Employer invoicing
If the company is paying, we invoice the business directly for one person or a whole team, with an uptake summary for their records.
Placement and university forms
Bring the form and we fill it in, sign and stamp it, including the US-style records American campuses ask for.
Rabies and hepatitis B follow-up
We note when your next rabies booster or antibody check falls due, so bat groups, vets and lab staff are not caught out years later.
Open around your shifts
Monday to Saturday 9am to 9pm, Sunday 9am to 6pm, walk-ins welcome, free parking, two Metrolink stops from Altrincham and handy for Manchester Airport commuters, so a nurse finishing a late at Wythenshawe can still be seen.
FAQ
Occupational vaccination questions we get asked
Sort your work vaccinations before the start date
Bring your OH letter, placement form or risk assessment to Altrincham Travel Clinic in Timperley. We will fill the gaps, time any antibody test correctly and hand you the paperwork. Employer invoicing available.