Managing Vaccinated & Unvaccinated at the Workplace

As Malaysia prepares to transition to a nationwide endemic phase, employers are exploring ways to enable a safe Return to Work. A critical concern on employers’ minds is the management of unvaccinated and vaccinated employees at the workplace.

Today’s session, led by Shazmi Ali, Vice President Human Resource, Shell Malaysia and Selvamalar Alagaratnam, Partner, Skrine Advocates & Solicitors sought to shed light on the topic, from HR and legal perspectives.

Key issues that were discussed:

• Can employers enforce mandatory vaccination or penalize employees who refuse to be vaccinated?
• How do employers manage information on employee vaccination in terms of the Personal Data Protection Act?
• What are incentives that employers can take to encourage vaccination? eg. compensation and benefits
• Taking into account OSHA compliance and the Future of Work, aside from vaccination, what are other measures employers can take eg. SOPs/ office space management to mitigate employees who do not want to be vaccinated?

A dynamic and insightful session that will certainly help employers in the coming months, as they prepare to welcome employees back to the workplace. Says Shazmi, “It takes years to build the reputation of a company. Do not take actions without due considerations. Ask yourself – are the actions you are taking legal, ethical and wise?’ Says Selva, “With the fluidity of the situation, operating with a lot of common sense is best.”

For further questions/ comments, reach out to Elaine Wong at [email protected].