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COVID-19 vaccination and testing in Singapore - employment law perspective

Table of contents
  1. Vaccination
    1. 1. What options does the employer have to encourage employees to be vaccinated? Can the employer provide a financial incentive to employees?
    2. 2. Is the employer obliged to offer vaccines (or can it voluntarily offer vaccines) to employees? Is the employer obliged to support (or can it voluntarily support) third parties or governmental institutions providing vaccines to employees?
    3. 3. Can the employer verify which of its employees have been vaccinated? If yes, can the employer make record of these vaccinated employees?
    4. 4. Does an employee have a duty to inform the employer whether or not he or she has been vaccinated?
    5. 5. Can the employer oblige employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment? If yes, specify under what conditions. Include in your answer to what extent certain professions are (statutorily) obliged by your country to be vaccinated, such as in the health sector.
    6. 6. Can employees refuse to be vaccinated? Please also include the consequences for employees working in a certain field or profession where vaccinations are obliged, but an employee refuses to be vaccinated.
    7. 7. Can the employer refuse to admit employees into the workplace if they are not vaccinated in terms of returning to the workplace. Furthermore, is it possible to make two categories of employees and make distinction between these two groups of people in terms of safety measures as wearing face masks or quarantine obligations?
    8. 8. Can the landlord of the building of employer (if any) refuse to admit employees into the building (workplace)? Especially, when multiple employers/offices are established in one building, and they are sharing the elevator or have other shared areas within the building.
    9. 9. Can the employer make a distinction in requesting vaccination status (or proof by means of an app or COVID-19 pass) between employees and third parties such as visitors, suppliers, employees of suppliers, contractors etc.?
    10. 11. How has your country implemented the EU DCC (if applicable)?
    11. 12. In case employer organises external events, can vaccination status (by means of an app or COVID-19 pass) be requested by this external party?
    12. 13. How should international business travel be managed? Include any local requirements where proof of vaccination is necessary to enter your jurisdiction.
    13. 14. Can the employer oblige the employee to travel for business purposes? Who will have to bear the costs for testing in case of non-vaccinated employees?
    14. 15. Which points of discussion or developments are expected in the future? Include any relevant new legislation that will or could be introduced.
  2. Testing
    1. 1. Can an employer oblige an employee to take a COVID-19 test (regardless if vaccinated or not)? If so, is the employer required to provide workplace COVID-19 tests? If not required, can it opt to do so voluntarily? 
    2. 2. If the answers to the previous questions are yes, how often is the employee obliged to take a test? Can tests be performed by the employer's medical personnel or must they be done by a professional third party?
    3. 3. Is an employee obliged to share the outcome of a positive COVID-19 test with the employer?
    4. 4. Can an employee refuse to be tested? Should testing become a mandatory condition of employment?
    5. 5. Can an employer assign different duties to employees who are unable to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering the workplace?
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Vaccination

1. What options does the employer have to encourage employees to be vaccinated? Can the employer provide a financial incentive to employees?

All employers are encouraged to adopt the “Vaccine or Regular Test” (VoRT) regime on or after 1 October 2021. Certain sectors are required to implement the VoRT regime from 1 October 2021 onwards. (More details in the answer to question 16 below.)

Under the VoRT regime, employers may adopt the following reasonable differentiated workplace measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated employees:

  1. Unvaccinated employees may be subjected to additional COVID-19 tests;
  2. Unvaccinated employees may be required to undergo Pre-Event Testing (PET) before participating in in workplace events;
  3. Employers may redeploy unvaccinated employees to other jobs with lower risks of COVID-19 infection commensurate with the employees' experience and skills, according to existing redeployment policies or on terms to be mutually agreed upon;
  4. Employers may require medically eligible but unvaccinated employees (i.e. excluding employees who are medically ineligible for mRNA vaccines) to bear any additional costs incurred by employers that are over and above those for vaccinated employees;
  5. Employers may implement other measures so long as they can justify that the measures are reasonable and necessary for business operations and protect the health and safety of all employees.

Employers are also advised to urge all medically eligible employees who have yet to be vaccinated to do so and implement public education programmes on vaccine safety and efficacy for their employees. Employers should facilitate vaccinations by granting paid time-off to employees for COVID-19 vaccinations, provide employees with time off (e.g. one to two days) to rest since they may experience common mild side effects such as fever, pain or swelling at the injection site, and grant additional paid sick leave (beyond contractual or statutory requirements) in the rare event that the employee experiences a vaccine-related adverse event.

Employers do not need to pay for employee vaccinations because every Singapore Citizen, Permanent Resident, person with a long-term visitor pass or work pass (e.g. the Employment Pass, S pass, Work Permit, and dependent pass) is eligible for free vaccinations. While there is at present no Ministry of Manpower (MOM) advisory on whether employers can provide additional financial incentives for their employees to be vaccinated, it is likely that MOM will allow such an arrangement (if any) to be voluntarily reached between employers and employees.

Employers may not, under any circumstances, terminate or threaten to terminate the service of an employee on the basis of vaccination status alone. Employers should also not place employees on unpaid 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.

2. Is the employer obliged to offer vaccines (or can it voluntarily offer vaccines) to employees? Is the employer obliged to support (or can it voluntarily support) third parties or governmental institutions providing vaccines to employees?

Employers cannot voluntarily offer vaccines to their employees since the Ministry of Health (MOH) administers the vaccination process.

3. Can the employer verify which of its employees have been vaccinated? If yes, can the employer make record of these vaccinated employees?

All employers may ask employees for their vaccination status for business purposes (e.g. business continuity planning). Employers that adopt the VoRT regime (see Question 1) can further require employees to produce proof of vaccination. Employees who refuse to do so will be treated as unvaccinated for the purposes of vaccination-differentiated measures.

If the employer wishes to keep records on vaccinated employees that contain personal data (including information that identifies individuals, such as specific names of vaccinated employees), they must do so in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act of Singapore and all other applicable data protection laws.

4. Does an employee have a duty to inform the employer whether or not he or she has been vaccinated?

Please see the response to Question 3 above. Currently, MOM does not oblige employees to inform employers whether they have been vaccinated.

5. Can the employer oblige employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment? If yes, specify under what conditions. Include in your answer to what extent certain professions are (statutorily) obliged by your country to be vaccinated, such as in the health sector.

As far as existing employees are concerned, the employer may not oblige employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment (see Question 1). From 1 October 2021, a vaccination requirement may, however, be imposed upfront at the point of recruitment or in advertisements for new hires if all existing employees in the same role are fully vaccinated.

Effective 1 October 2021, front-line workers in selected high-risk areas (including healthcare, eldercare, settings with children aged 12 and below, food and beverage establishments, gyms and fitness studios, personal care services, the public service, retail mall and supermarket workers, taxi and private car drivers, public transport frontline staff) are compulsorily subjected to the VoRT regime (see Question 1) where they will need to be vaccinated or undergo an antigen rapid test (ART) twice a week. These tests will only be subsidised if the unvaccinated worker is medically ineligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

6. Can employees refuse to be vaccinated? Please also include the consequences for employees working in a certain field or profession where vaccinations are obliged, but an employee refuses to be vaccinated.

Employees can refuse to be vaccinated. If the employer has implemented the VoRT regime, the employee is required to take an antigen rapid test (ART) twice a week at his own expense and may also be subject to differentiated workplace measures (see Question 1).

7. Can the employer refuse to admit employees into the workplace if they are not vaccinated in terms of returning to the workplace. Furthermore, is it possible to make two categories of employees and make distinction between these two groups of people in terms of safety measures as wearing face masks or quarantine obligations?

No, employers cannot refuse to admit unvaccinated employees into the workplace. The requirements for safe management measures (SMMs) at the workplace apply whether or not an employee is vaccinated.

8. Can the landlord of the building of employer (if any) refuse to admit employees into the building (workplace)? Especially, when multiple employers/offices are established in one building, and they are sharing the elevator or have other shared areas within the building.

While there is at present no Ministry of Manpower (MOM) advisory on whether the landlord of the building of the employer (if any) can refuse to admit employees into the building (i.e. workplace), we do not think this would be possible in view of Question 7 above.

9. Can the employer make a distinction in requesting vaccination status (or proof by means of an app or COVID-19 pass) between employees and third parties such as visitors, suppliers, employees of suppliers, contractors etc.?

Yes, there is no guideline on this. However, if the employer wishes to require third parties to undergo the VoRT regime as well, it may engage external vendors or contractors with access to the workplace to make a similar arrangement to require VoRT as part of their company policy.

11. How has your country implemented the EU DCC (if applicable)?

Not applicable.

12. In case employer organises external events, can vaccination status (by means of an app or COVID-19 pass) be requested by this external party?

Employees attending such events are required to obtain a valid negative COVID-19 Test Result to participate in the event unless they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 and can provide a valid Pre-Event Test (PET) exemption notice. If they are relying on the “fully vaccinated” exception to PET, they must show proof of their vaccination status.

13. How should international business travel be managed? Include any local requirements where proof of vaccination is necessary to enter your jurisdiction.

Travellers on short-term business trips to Singapore may use the lanes below. Only travellers with a travel history to the listed countries and regions before arriving in Singapore may use the respective lanes.

  1. Air Travel Pass – from Hong Kong, Macao, Mainland China, Taiwan;
  2. Reciprocal Green Lane – from Brunei Darussalam, Mainland China (only for travellers from Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin and Zhejiang);
  3. Vaccinated Travel Lane (for travellers who have received the full regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna or WHO EUL Vaccines) – Brunei, Denmark, France, Germany. Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States (effective from 19 October 2021); for South Korea, starting from 15 November 2021.

Travel from Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) countries to Singapore must be on designated VTL flights. Travelling to multiple VTL countries within the same trip is allowed. Travellers are required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination and take two COVID-19 PCR tests when flying into Singapore. Short-term visitors and Long-Term Pass holders need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) to board the VTL flights to Singapore.

Detailed requirements can be found at Travelling to Singapore (ica.gov.sg).

14. Can the employer oblige the employee to travel for business purposes? Who will have to bear the costs for testing in case of non-vaccinated employees?

Employers may not oblige employees to travel for business purposes. Employers also cannot penalise those who reject a work trip due to safety and health concerns. The employer must bear the costs of entry requirements into Singapore including testing. They cannot pass any of the costs to employees.

15. Which points of discussion or developments are expected in the future? Include any relevant new legislation that will or could be introduced.

As more and more vaccines are rolled out for prioritised workers and the general public, the Singapore government will likely increase its support for individuals who suffer from more serious side effects from vaccines.

One example already in effect is MOH’s Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme for COVID-19 Vaccination (VIFAP), which provides financial assistance for affected persons to give greater peace of mind for those receiving a vaccination. Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and long-term pass holders who have received vaccinations and experienced serious side effects are able to qualify for the VIFAP.

VIFAP will provide: (i) a one-time pay-out of up to $10,000 to an eligible individual who is hospitalised but subsequently recovers from medically significant serious side effects caused by a COVID-19 vaccination; and (ii) a one-time pay-out of $225,000 to an individual who dies or suffers permanent severe disability as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Testing

1. Can an employer oblige an employee to take a COVID-19 test (regardless if vaccinated or not)? If so, is the employer required to provide workplace COVID-19 tests? If not required, can it opt to do so voluntarily? 

Yes. Employers of certain groups of higher risk workers must schedule Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test appointments for their employees pursuant to Rostered Routine Testing (RRT). The applicable groups of workers include:

  • All workers from the construction, marine and processing sectors (unless working in the company's office premises) and personnel who enter work sites.
  • All workers from the manufacturing and services sectors residing in the following sites:
    • Purpose-built dormitories;
    • Factory-converted dormitories;
    • Decant sites;
    • Temporary Living Quarters / Temporary Occupational Licence Quarters / Construction Temporary Quarters.

In addition, from 1 October 2021 onwards, unvaccinated individuals from various settings must be tested twice a week using Antigen Rapid Tests (ART) under the VoRT regime. These sectors include:

  • The healthcare sector, eldercare sector, and settings with children 12 years and below;
  • Sectors where there are interactions with customers in higher-risk mask-off settings, and COVID-19 frontline work. These sectors include F&B establishments, gyms and fitness studios, and personal care services;
  • The Public Service, including uniformed services;
  • Retail mall workers, workers in supermarket outlets, taxi and private hire car drivers, last mile delivery personnel, driving school instructors/private driving instructors, and public transport frontline staff as they interact more frequently with the general public.

The comprehensive list of sectors required to implement the VoRT regime can be found here: annex-a2c38c82f53d24bd3a1374f87f22b1270.pdf (moh.gov.sg).

Employers from other sectors can voluntarily choose to implement the VoRT regime (see Question 1).

2. If the answers to the previous questions are yes, how often is the employee obliged to take a test? Can tests be performed by the employer's medical personnel or must they be done by a professional third party?

Under the RRT regime, it is compulsory for identified groups of workers to be tested every 14 days. Tests will be conducted at designated Regional Screening Centres. All employers must register with the Swab Registration System to book swab test appointments for their workers at the available designated sites and arrange for workers to be transported to the test sites. From 1 October 2021, frontline workers must also administer the ART between the RRT.

Unvaccinated employees under the VoRT regime are to be tested twice weekly using the ART. See detailed answer to question 16 above.

Therefore, vaccinated workers in these selected industries will have one additional ART between their RRT (on day 7) while unvaccinated workers will have three additional ART tests (on day 3, 7, and 11).

3. Is an employee obliged to share the outcome of a positive COVID-19 test with the employer?

An employee is not obliged to share the outcome of a positive COVID-19 test with the employer.

Generally, an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 (whether at the workplace or outside their home) will be contacted by MOH for further management. MOH will share the outcome of an employee’s positive COVID-19 test result with employers and will contact the employer or the dorm operative to arrange for the affected patient’s conveyance to a healthcare facility if the patient is a migrant worker living in the dormitory.

If an employee takes the ART, tests positive and is symptomatic, the employee should call the nearest Swab and Send Home (SASH) clinic for an appointment and to confirm that they can provide a confirmatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. After the confirmatory PCR test, the employee should go home immediately via private transport and self-isolate at home until the employee receives a negative PCR test result. If the PCR test is positive, the employee should continue to self-isolate until MOH contacts the employee to provide instructions on required follow-up actions. 

If an employee takes the ART, tests positive and is asymptomatic, the individual is urged to self-isolate at home for 72 hours. At the end of 72 hours of self-isolation, the individual is encouraged to do another ART test. If the second ART is negative, the individual can progressively resume normal activities. If unwell during the period of self-isolation, the individual should visit a general practitioner (GP) as soon as possible.

4. Can an employee refuse to be tested? Should testing become a mandatory condition of employment?

Testing for a targeted group of workers identified in RRT is mandatory. Therefore, the applicable workers cannot refuse to be tested and cannot be exempted from the RRT. COVID-19 tests are also an entry approval requirement for employers bringing foreign workers with work passes into Singapore.

From 1 October 2021 onwards, the VoRT regime will also apply to unvaccinated employees from selected sectors. See our answer to question 16 above.

5. Can an employer assign different duties to employees who are unable to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering the workplace?

From 1 October 2021 onwards, employees in selected sectors are required to be vaccinated or undergo regular testing. As such, employees from these sectors who are unable to present a negative COVID-19 test will not be permitted into the workplace.

While employers may continue to deploy unvaccinated employees in higher risk activities with regular testing, they can also decide whether to redeploy these employees to other jobs with lower risks of COVID-19 infection, commensurate with the employee’s experience and skills according to existing redeployment policies. If there are no existing redeployment policies within the organisation, the terms and conditions for redeployment should be mutually agreed upon between employers and employees.