Unvaccinated staff may be asked to pay for tests

All employers have been urged to consider implementing a regime for employees to get vaccinated or undergo regular tests.  

As part of efforts to boost vaccination  rates, employers may also ask staff who  are eligible but choose not to be vaccinated to pay for regular testing and  exclude them from medical benefits  linked to Covid-19.  

Employers should not terminate or  threaten to terminate an employee on the  basis of vaccination status alone.  

But they can terminate an unvaccinated employee who does not comply  with reasonable vaccination-differentiated workplace measures.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM),  National Trades Union Congress  (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), which released  the guidelines yesterday, said employers  should follow the example set by the public service in putting in place the requirement.

The advisory supersedes the one  released last month, which states that  employers may make vaccination a  requirement for workers in higher-risk  environments.

The tripartite partners said employers  can require medically eligible workers  who are not vaccinated to bear additional  costs under the regime.

For example, employers may recover  from these employees the cost of test kits  and stay-home notice accommodation  that is incurred over and above those of  vaccinated employees.

In terms of leave, they said unvaccinated employees may be discharged later  from treatment, or may be served with  longer periods of movement restrictions  compared with vaccinated employees.

In such situations, employers can  deduct the additional days served by a  medically eligible but unvaccinated  employee from the person’s leave entitlements.

“If leave entitlements have been  exhausted, employers may require such  an employee to go on no-pay leave,” said  the tripartite partners.

Sectors subjected to the vaccinate or  regular test regime from Oct 1 include  healthcare, eldercare and settings with  children aged 12 years and below.  Sectors  involving interaction with customers in  higher-risk mask-off settings, such as  dining establishments and fitness studios, also have to implement the regime.

MOM, NTUC and SNEF said employers should prepare their workforce early  in the lead-up to Oct 1.

 The tripartite partners also said  employers may adopt differentiated  workplace measures for vaccinated and  unvaccinated employees in their workforce. This may be done in consultation  with the unions, if applicable.

In terms of Covid-19 tests, they said  employers which voluntarily adopt the  vaccinate or test regime can subject  unvaccinated employees to more tests  than other employees. Guidelines by the  Ministry of Health recommend testing  twice a week for unvaccinated employees  in selected sectors.

For work and social events, employers  may require unvaccinated employees to  undergo pre-event testing. They may  also implement reduced group sizes  when unvaccinated employees take part.