This legal alert addresses the issue of whether or not
it is possible for an employer to mandate its employees to undergo
mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations and whether such an action can be
legally supported.
Sections 16 and 17 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act
No. 36 of 2010 ("OHSA")
In terms section 16 OHSA, an employer has the overriding
obligation to, among other things, ensure the health, safety and
welfare of its employees. Based on this overriding duty which the
employer has and owing to the fact that it is couched in broad
terms, it is possible for the employer to request its employees to
obtain the Covid-19 vaccinations.
In turn, section 17 of the OHSA provides that an employee has
the obligation to, among other things, cooperate with the employer
in relation to any duty imposed on the employer, so far as is
necessary to enable that duty or requirement of the employer to be
performed or compliedwith. As such, in line with an employee's
duty
