Firms may require workers in higher-risk settings to be vaccinated, but shouldn’t penalise unwilling employees: MOM
A woman getting her Covid-19 vaccination at Yew Tee Community Centre on April 21, 2021.
SINGAPORE — To curb the risk of Covid-19 outbreaks, employers may roll out vaccination as a company policy for workers at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus.
These include hotel employees who come into contact with those serving stay-home orders, front-line maritime workers, air crew, healthcare employees, and Covid-19 laboratory workers.
The employers may also require new hires to be vaccinated when recruiting or advertising for these jobs, an advisory released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) stated on Friday (July 2).
However, the ministry said that employers should under no circumstances terminate or threaten to fire employees who decline to be vaccinated.
Instead, they should redeploy such workers to roles with a lower risk of getting infected.
These roles should correspond with the employee’s experience and skills and be based on current redeployment policies, MOM said.
If no such policy is available, the terms and conditions for redeployment should be agreed on by employers and employees.
Besides redeploying workers to other roles, they may also make employees who decline vaccination cover the cost of any extra Covid-19 tests or stay-home-notice accommodation they may need.
These costs should be over and above those incurred for vaccinated employees in the same workplace, MOM said.
Employers may do this through wage deductions or require the employees to pay for these services themselves.
Employers may also impose a different leave policy for employees in higher-risk jobs who decline vaccination.
They may, for example, put these employees on unpaid leave during the stay-home orders they may have to serve.
Higher-risk workplaces refer to settings that require employees to undergo rostered routine testing, mandated fast and easy testing, or where staff members are in regular contact with Covid-19 cases or people who are in isolation.
Workers in other higher-risk settings include:
Employees living in dormitories
Athletes taking part in sports requiring close contact
Employees in the construction, marine and process sectors
Employers who require workers to be vaccinated should provide them with more paid sick leave — beyond contractual or statutory requirements — to support their recovery from immediate adverse medical complications from vaccination.
They should also exempt employees who want to take the jabs but have not yet been scheduled for vaccination or those deemed unsuitable to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.
These employees may be redeployed to other roles. But, if they decline this, employers should not collect any extra Covid-19-related costs from them.
Employers that impose vaccination as a company policy are expected to address the concerns of those who decline vaccination.
They should also clearly communicate the following:
Assurances that employees would not be penalised or fired because they declined to be vaccinated
Jobs or workplaces that expose employees to a higher risk of infection and why vaccination is needed
Measures for employees who decline vaccination, such as redeployment, cost recovery and leave arrangements while serving stay-home notices
Help that may be offered to staff members who suffer from adverse complications owing to the vaccination requirement
