Employers warned to comply with legal requirements when enforcing vaccination mandate
Legal expert Lauren Salt says employers must ensure they comply with all the legal requirements before enforcing a mandatory vaccine policy in the office.
This comes after Baroque Medical dismissed an employee who refused to comply with the company’s mandatory vaccination policy.
The basis of the policy was to ensure that staff members were not infected by Covid-19 so as to ensure business continuity through a reduction of absenteeism.
The employee then turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, who decided in her favour.
Salt says the CCMA found the rule to be unreasonable and unconstitutional.
"CCMA did not look at whether or not the employer reason was justified but rather looked at whether the vaccine mandate generally are constitutional."
However, Salt believes employers are still able to enforce a vaccination mandate, as long as it complies with all the legal requirements.
"Even though the CCMA has come to the conclusion it has at the Baroque Medicals, employers can still implement mandatory vaccination as long as it is in line with the code of practice."
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