Singapore bars unvaccinated workers from workplace from January 15

From January 15 onwards, unvaccinated workers in Singapore will no longer be able to return to their workplaces, even if they have a negative pre-event testing (PET) result, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). 

“Following the review and discussion with tripartite partners, we have decided to remove the PET concession for unvaccinated persons to return to the workplace from January 15, 2022,” MOH highlighted in a press statement. 

The government had announced that unvaccinated workers will not be allowed to enter the workplace from January 2022 onwards unless they tested negative for COVID-19 prior to that. 

Workers who are partially vaccinated will be granted a grace period of up till January 31 to complete their full vaccination regime, MOH added. During the grace period, these staff can enter the workplace with a negative PET result. 

“This change will help to protect unvaccinated individuals and to create safer workplaces for everyone,” said the ministry. 

As of December 27, around 52,000 employees in Singapore remain unvaccinated, with 80% of firms having attained 100% vaccine coverage for their workforce. This, MOH updated, means that 98% of the total workforce in Singapore has been vaccinated.

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MOM also advised employers to redeploy unvaccinated workers to jobs which can be done from home, with suitable remuneration. They can also place them on no-pay leave “based on mutually agreeable terms”, and only as a last resort, terminate the services of these workers with notice, n accordance with employment contracts.