Government Issues Advisory On Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations For Employees

In light of the Singapore Government strongly encouraging those who are medically eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccination, the Ministry of Manpower ("MOM"), the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation (together, the "Tripartite Partners") had on 2 July 2021 jointly issued an Advisory on COVID-19 vaccination in employment settings ("Advisory").

A summary of the Advisory is as follows:

• Workplace vaccination policy

As Singapore's National Vaccination Programme is not mandatory, employers should not make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for employees unless the exception for "higher risk employment settings" applies (discussed below). Employers should instead strongly encourage employees to get vaccinated by providing support and benefits to employees, including providing paid vaccination leave and additional paid medical leave in the event of side effects as well as educating employees on the benefits of being vaccinated.