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Vaccination-differentiated measures have been rolled out for dining in at restaurants and F&B outlets, as well as for attendance at large events such as weddings, religious services, and movie screenings.

Now, all employers are being encouraged to implement vaccination-differentiated measures at workplaces as well.

This was announced on Aug. 23 in a statement by the tripartite partners, which comprise the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).

“Vaccinate or Regular Test” (VoRT) regime

It was previously announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) that a “Vaccinate or Regular Test” (VoRT) regime would be implemented for employees in selected sectors from Oct. 1, 2021.

The regime applies to those working in healthcare, eldercare, settings with children 12 and below, as well as settings where customers remove their masks for activities such as dining, exercise, or personal care services.

According to the statement by the tripartite partners, the VoRT regime will be adopted by the Public Service as well.

All employers are also urged to "follow the example set by the Public Service and consider adopting the VoRT regime as a company policy", the statement said.

This would apply to both new hires as well as existing employees.

What measures are part of the VoRT regime?

The statement outlined the following vaccination-differentiated  measures under the VoRT regime:

1. More testing for unvaccinated employees as compared to those who are vaccinated. Unvaccinated employees could be required to get tested twice a week, taking reference from MOH's guidelines.
2. Pre-event testing for unvaccinated employees for work and social events. Employers may either require unvaccinated employees to undergo Pre- Event Testing (PET) before participating in workplace events, or reduce group sizes at events where unvaccinated employees are present.
3. Redeployment of unvaccinated employees. Employers may continue to deploy unvaccinated employees in higher risk activities with regular testing, but they can also decide whether to redeploy these employees to another job with lower risk. Redeployments should be mutually agreed between employers and employees, if there are no existing redeployment policies.

Employers can implement more measures on their own accord

Employers can also implement other workplace measures on their own accord, the statement added.

However, in doing so, employers "must be prepared to justify to employees and/or the Government" that such measures are "reasonable and necessary for business operations and to better protect the health and safety of all employees" in the event of a dispute.

Where employees are part of a union, the union and the employer "may mutually agree on other vaccination-differentiated workplace measures," said the statement.

Unvaccinated employees can be required to cover some costs under VoRT regime

The statement said that employers should bear necessary costs for the VoRT regime, if they are common for both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.

However, medically eligible but unvaccinated employees can be required to bear costs that are incurred over and above those for vaccinated employees.

This applies in the following areas:

1. Covid-19-related expenses. The cost of test kits and Stay-Home Notice (SHN) accommodation can be covered either by deducting employees' salary, or requiring employees to pay service providers directly.
2. Leave. Unvaccinated employees who are away from work for longer than vaccinated employees can be required to use their leave entitlements or go on no-pay leave. This could happen in scenarios where they are discharged later from treatment, or served with longer periods of movement restrictions such as SHN.
3. Medical benefits. Employers may choose to exclude these employees from medical benefits associated with Covid-19, such as the cost of insurance coverage. Medical benefits required by law, however, cannot be excluded.

However, the statement clarified that in the case of employees who are medically ineligible for mRNA vaccines, employers should not require them to cover such additional costs.

Employers should not threaten to terminate employees based on vaccination status

"Under no circumstances should an employer terminate or threaten to terminate the service of an employee on the basis of vaccination status alone," said the statement.

It added that employers should also not place employees on no-pay leave for an extended duration without their mutual consent in writing.

However, employers may exercise their right to contractually terminate employment if unvaccinated employees do not comply with "reasonable vaccination-differentiated workplace measures", the statement said.

Furthermore, employers who adopt the VoRT regime were also urged to "communicate clearly and in advance to affected employees and jobseekers on the vaccination-differentiated workplace measures and any associated costs to employees who are medically eligible but decline vaccination."

Previous advisory superseded

The tripartite partners said that the new advisory issued today (Aug. 23) supersedes its previous advisory issued on Jul. 2.

However, the updated Aug. 23 advisory retains some of the points from the previous advisory, including the following:

• Employers may ask employees for their vaccination status for business purposes, such as business continuity planning.
• Employers are encouraged to grant paid-time off for them to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
• Employers should educate their employees on vaccine safety and efficacy.

The statement added that while vaccination "significantly strengthens our defences against Covid-19", it is still important for employers and employees to continue observing Safe Management Measures at workplaces, such as mask-wearing and donning of protective equipment where required.

Top image via @kate_sade on Unsplash

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