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Updated advisory on COVID-19 vaccination at the workplace

Issued on 23 October 2021
Updated on 27 December 2021

  1. We have made considerable progress in vaccinating our workforce. As of 19 December 2021, 80% of firms have attained 100% vaccine coverage for their workforce. 98% of the total workforce have been vaccinated1. Nevertheless, there remains around 52,000 employees who have not yet taken any vaccine dose. Of these, around 6,700 are aged 60 and above, and are at a very high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 infection. Only a small proportion of these employees are medically ineligible for vaccination.
  2. Since then, we have seen the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron variant, which with the Delta variant, significantly raises the chance of contracting COVID-19 compared to a year ago. Unvaccinated employees, especially those who are older, will put immense strain on our healthcare capacity in the coming months, if they contract COVID-19.
  3. At the same time, the tripartite partners recognise the urgency to be able to sustain business activity as much as possible, in order to protect livelihoods. A fully vaccinated workforce will be able to operate more safely and at much lower risk to employees’ lives. We must also be prepared to take stronger steps to protect those who, due to medical reasons, cannot receive any vaccine.The tripartite partners are issuing this advisory to provide guidance to employers on adjusting their HR policies, in consultation with unions if applicable.
  4. On 14 December 2021, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce indicated that the tripartite partners were discussing the removal of the concession for unvaccinated employees to provide a negative PET result before entering the workplace. The tripartite partners support the following workplace vaccination measures which will allow the country to reopen safely:
    1. Phase 1 (1 January 2022 to 14 January 2022): Employees who are fully vaccinated2, certified to be medically ineligible, or have recovered from COVID-19 within 1803 days, can return to the workplace4. Unvaccinated employees will still be allowed at the workplace if they have a negative Pre-Event Testing (PET) result5. The PET negative result must be valid6 for the duration that employees are required to be present at the workplace. Unvaccinated employees have to pay for the costs of PET and show the PET results to their employers when reporting to the workplace.
    2. Phase 2 (15 January 2022 onwards): Only employees who are fully vaccinated, certified to be medically ineligible or have recovered from COVID-19 within 180 days, can return to the workplace. The concession for unvaccinated employees to perform PET in lieu of being fully vaccinated will be removed, i.e. such employees will not be allowed to return to the workplace even if they did PET with a negative result. Partially vaccinated7 employees will still be allowed at workplaces with a negative PET result up to 31 January 2022 after which they must be fully vaccinated.

    Work arrangements for unvaccinated employees
  5. For unvaccinated employees, employers may allow them to work from home if the employers assess that such working arrangements sufficiently meet their operational / business needs. However, as the vast majority of vaccinated employees eventually return to the workplace more frequently, the prolonged absence of the unvaccinated employees from the workplace may affect their individual performance as well as negatively impact team or organisational performance.
  6. From 15 January 2022, for employees whose jobs require working on-site as determined by the employers, employers can:
    1. Redeploy them to suitable jobs which can be done from home if such jobs are available, with remuneration commensurate with the responsibilities of the alternative jobs; or
    2. Place them on no-pay leave based on mutually agreeable terms. By not coming to the workplace, unvaccinated employees are protected from being exposed to the threat of the virus; or
    3. As a last resort after exploring options above, terminate their employment (with notice) in accordance with the employment contract. If termination of employment is due to employees’ inability to be at the workplace to perform their contracted work, such termination of employment would not be considered as wrongful dismissal.

    Special consideration for unvaccinated employees who are medically ineligible for vaccines under the National Vaccination Programme (NVP)
  7. Even though employees who are certified to be medically ineligible for vaccines under the NVP are allowed to work on-site, employers should consider the following measures:
    1. Allow the employees to work from home if they are able to do so and their absence from the workplace should not affect assessment of their performance; or
    2. Redeploy the employees to suitable jobs which can be done from home if such jobs are available, with remuneration commensurate with the responsibilities of the alternative jobs.

    Special consideration for pregnant employees
  8. Pregnant employees are also strongly encouraged to be vaccinated with the vaccines under the NVP as soon as possible. Pregnant women who delay vaccination are at higher risks of complications should they contract COVID-19 during pregnancy. Pregnant women may wish to consult their obstetricians to discuss benefits and risks.
  9. Employers should not terminate the employment of medically eligible but unvaccinated pregnant employees and are strongly encouraged to give special consideration to their needs and concerns. Employers should consider extending similar support measures as per Paras 7a and 7b or no-pay leave (NPL) until after the employee has delivered. Such NPL should not affect their right to maternity benefits required under any legislation, employment contract or collective agreement.

    Call to Action for Employers
  10. The tripartite partners urge the remaining 20% of employers to make a concerted push to get their unvaccinated employees to be vaccinated as soon as possible. To facilitate this, companies may check their workforce’s vaccination rate using the Workforce Vaccination Checker (Corppass required).
  11. Employers need to verify employees’ eligibility before they are allowed to return to the workplace (e.g. proof of vaccination, certificate of being medically ineligible for vaccination, PET result or proof of recovery within 180 days). Employees who refuse to show proof would be treated as unvaccinated for the purposes of paragraphs 4, 5 and 6.
  12. Employers should facilitate vaccination by granting paid time-off to employees for their vaccination (including vaccination booster shots), and additional paid sick leave (beyond contractual or statutory requirement) in the rare event that the employee experiences a vaccine-related adverse reaction.

    Call to Action for Employees
  13. The tripartite partners would also like to urge the remaining 2% of unvaccinated employees to go for vaccination as soon as possible to protect their well-being and avoid any impact to their jobs and livelihoods. Employees may walk into any vaccination centre, polyclinic and participating Public Health Preparedness Clinic (PHPC) to get vaccinated without the need to make an appointment.

    Conclusion
  14. Vaccination significantly strengthens our defences against COVID-19. As we transit into a COVID resilient nation, the tripartite partners urge all employers and employees to work together to control the spread of COVID-19, reduce the strain on our healthcare institutions and facilitate a safe reopening of our society and economy.
  15. For further queries, please contact:

    Ministry of Manpower
    Online enquiry
    www.mom.gov.sg

    Ministry of Health
    Online enquiry
    www.moh.gov.sg

    National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
    ntucird@ntuc.org.sg
    www.ntuc.org.sg

    Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF)
    advisory@snef.org.sg
    www.snef.org.sg

FOOTNOTE

  1. Figure does not include self-employed persons (SEPs).
  2. Please refer to MOH’s Information on Vaccination Differentiated Safe Management Measures (SMMS) for the definition of a fully vaccinated individual.
  3. From 1 January 2022, all recovered persons from COVID-19 who are not fully vaccinated will only be given a 180-day exemption after infection to enter the workplace. Non-fully vaccinated individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 prior to 1 January 2022 will also have their exemption period reduced from 270 days to 180 days. Such individuals who will already exceed the 180-day period as at 1 January 2022 would be granted an additional one-month grace period till 31 January 2022 to complete their vaccination regime, so as to continue being able to enter the workplace.
  4. Subject to prevailing Government mandated Safe Management Measures (SMM).
  5. Unvaccinated employees may proceed to MOH-approved COVID-19 test providers for PET. Please refer to MOH website for more details.
  6. Negative PET result is valid for 24 hours.
  7. Employees must have received at least 1 dose of a vaccine under the National Vaccination Programme or WHO Emergency Use Listing.

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