Singapore Implements Mandatory Workforce Vaccination Measures: What Employers Should Know

Singapore

On December 27, 2021, the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued the updated “Advisory Guidelines on COVID-19 Vaccination at the Workplace” imposing a vaccine mandate on all employees who wish to return to the workplace from January 15, 2022. 

In summary, from January 15, 2022, 

• Medically eligible but unvaccinated employees will be prohibited from returning to the workplace even if they can present negative test results. For these employees, employers have the following options: 
  • allow them to work from home if such work arrangements are practicable, or  
  • if work-from-home arrangements are not practicable, redeploy them to roles that can be performed from home, or put them on no-pay leave or, as a last resort, terminate their employment. 
• Medically ineligible employees are allowed to work on site notwithstanding their unvaccinated status, but employers should consider allowing them to work from home if practicable or redeploy them to jobs that can be done from home. Employers shall extend the same work arrangements to unvaccinated pregnant employees or put these unvaccinated pregnant employees on no-pay leave until after they have delivered. 
• Grace period: Partially vaccinated employees (i.e., those who have received only one vaccine dose) will be allowed to work on site with a negative test result (obtained from test providers approved by the Singapore Ministry of Health) until January 31, 2022.

The MOM also updated the guidelines in “Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the Workplace” to provide further guidance on (1) the policy that allows up to 50% of the employees who are able to work from home to return to the workplace starting January 1, 2022, and (2) allowing work-related events with 51 to 1,000 participants under certain conditions. 

The updated guidelines are available here: 

• Advisory on COVID-19 Vaccination at the Workplace: https://www.mom.gov.sg/covid-19/advisory-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-employment-settings 
• Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the Workplace & FAQs: https://www.mom.gov.sg/covid-19/requirements-for-safe-management-measures
  https://www.mom.gov.sg/covid-19/frequently-asked-questions/safe-management-measures