A new consolidated COVID-19 Direction on Occupational Health and Safety in the Workplace has been published by the Department of Employment and Labour. It includes provisions on the vaccination of employees and replaces the direction of 1 October 2020. Click here to access a copy.

The Direction obliges employers to:

  • Provide their employees with information on COVID-19 vaccines used in South Africa.
  • Assist employees to register on the EVDS portal, as they become eligible for vaccination.
  • Give employees paid time off work to be vaccinated if the scheduled time of vaccination is during working hours.

Employers may adopt a policy of mandatory vaccination of their employees but individual workers may still decline to undergo vaccination on health or constitutional grounds. A guideline outlines how employers with mandatory vaccination in place should deal with individual workers wishing to opt out.