The Singapore government announced new workplace vaccination measures which will take effect from 1 January 2022.

From that date, only employees who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 within the past 270 days, can return to the workplace.

All unvaccinated individuals will not be allowed to return to the workplace. They can do so only if: 

• They have tested negative for COVID-19 with an Antigen Rapid Test (ART) done via a Pre-Event Test at an Ministry Of Health-approved COVID-19 test provider.
• Test must be valid for the duration that individuals are required to be at the workplace. 

The Multi-Ministry Task Force added that employees who are medically ineligible for all the vaccines under the National Vaccination Programme are exempted from the workforce vaccination measures if they need to work on-site.

During the government’s Stabilisation Phase (27 September – 21 November 2021), work-from-home (WFH) remains the default working arrangement, including for vaccinated employees.

The tripartite partners, which comprise the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers’ Federation, said they support the move to better protect the workforce and have issued an advisory on Covid-19 vaccination at the workplace. The advisory provides guidance to employers and employees on the work arrangement employers can take to manage unvaccinated employees who are unable to be physically present at the workplace.

Meanwhile, the Business Times reported that those who refuse to disclose their Covid-19 vaccination status can be treated as unvaccinated, and companies can terminate workers who do not comply with their workforce vaccination measures as a last resort.

Employers can also impose a vaccination requirement upfront when hiring new staff for the purpose of planning deployment at the workplace, the Ministry added. These workforce vaccination measures are applicable to anyone working at the same premises as their employees, including independent contractors and vendors, it said.