Company Covid-19 vaccination: whether refusal by employee justifies termination?

• Main Author: Ali Mohamed, Ashgar Ali
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: K Law (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/89654/1/Company%20Covid-19%20Vaccination_%20Whether%20refusal%20by%20employee%20justifies%20termination.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/89654/2/Certificate%20Saudi%20Conference.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/89654/3/PROGRAM%20SCHEDULE.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/89654/

As there is no law mandating the vaccination, the issue arises as to whether the employer can force their employees to be vaccinated before allowing them to return to work or as soon as the vaccination for them is made available. Whether refusal by the employee to comply with the management request for vaccination can be a basis for terminated from employment. Recently, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had said that the police officers who refuses to take the Covid-19 vaccine will be asked to resign. The question will then arise whether such a departure was voluntary resignation or a dismissal from employment. It is important to consider whether the employee’s refusal to comply with the management’s request was based on legitimate reasons. Hence, this article discusses the above issues with reference to workers in the private sector. At this juncture, it is noteworthy that an employee’s right to decline vaccination need to be balanced against the employer’s obligation to provide a safe and healthy work environment. In this regard, workers who refuses vaccination otherwise than the pre-existing medical conditions could potentially risk others at the workplace of this disease and hence, undermining the employer’s workplace safety and health obligation.