Companies can require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if the Inter-Agency Task Force on the pandemic requires staff immunization before it can operate, the labor department said.
These include restaurants, spas and the like where the risk of infection is relatively higher, Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello III said, clarifying his earlier comments on the "no vaccine, now work" policy of some firms.
"Ang inilabas pong IATF resolution ay para lang po sa iilang negosyo, tulad po ng restaurants at spa, pinapayagan po silang mag-offer ng dine-in service or in-person services provided that employees are vaccinated," Bello told reportr in a text message.
"The legal basis of restaurants and spas and other similar establishments is the resolution of the IATF," he said.
Bello was referring to the September IATF resolution on how much businesses can reopen under different alert levels, a new quarantine system that allows for localized lockdowns instead of large-scale quarantines.
Restaurants, cinemas, and personal care services are allowed to operate in limited capacities under the COVID-19 alert level system for as long as their workers are fully vaccinated.
Bello said the policy cannot be interpreted to mean that all workers can be required to get COVID-19 vaccines.
"Wala pa pong legal basis ang mandatory vaccination para sa lahat ng manggagawa," he said.
While COVID-19 vaccination is not mandatory in the Philippines, the public is encouraged to get inoculated to help end the pandemic.
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