Gov Workers in S’pore May be Placed on Unpaid Leave If They Still Refuse the Vaccine

Towards the end of October, the authorities announced that only fully vaccinated employees – or those who have recently recovered from COVID-19 – will be allowed to return to the workplace from next year.

This put unvaccinated folks in a particularly uncomfortable pickle because not all of them can do their work from home.

So, what’s going to happen to all those workers who refuse to get vaccinated and can’t telecommute?

Gov Workers in S’pore May be Placed on Unpaid Leave If They Still Refuse the Vaccine

Well, if you’re a public officer, you might just be placed on unpaid leave as a last resort.

The Public Service Division (PSD), which is the “largest employer” in Singapore, said it will do its best to accommodate unvaccinated workers by allowing them to work from home or redeploying them to other roles that can be performed at home.

But, if an officer chooses to remain unvaccinated even though they are medically eligible for vaccination and cannot be redeployed or telecommute, they may be placed on no-pay leave as a last resort. Alternatively, their company may allow their contract to lapse without renewal.

At the moment, there are around 153,00 workers in Singapore’s public service, 98% of whom have been fully vaccinated.

These measures may sound drastic, but all other unvaccinated workers may face similar action next year.

MOM: From Next Year, Employers Can Sack Unvaccinated Staff If They Can’t Perform Their Work

When the authorities announced that only vaccinated employees will be allowed to return to the workplace, they also provided options that employers can offer unvaccinated employees.

If unvaccinated employees can’t work from home, employers can:

1. Allow them to continue in the existing job with pre-event testing (PET) done at employees’ own expense and own time (outside of working hours)
2. 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
3. Place them on no-pay leave

But that’s not all. As a last resort, the Ministry of Manpower said employers can also “terminate their employment – with notice – in accordance with the employment contract.”

It added that if this termination of employment is due to an unvaccinated employee’s inability to be at the workplace to perform their contracted work, it would not be considered as wrongful dismissal.

Of course, the same rules won’t apply to those who are medically ineligible for vaccines under the National Vaccination Programme.

If they can’t be redeployed or work from home, they will be exempt from the workforce vaccination measures if they need to work on-site.

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