Unvaccinated government employees in the UAE will not be allowed into their workplaces from January 3 under new rules from the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR).
It today issued a circular to all ministries and federal entities, updating the measures implemented at the federal government level to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The circular stipulated that, in accordance with the directives of the UAE government regarding the implementation of the “Green Pass Protocol” for all federal government employees it had decided to standardise all resolutions related to the COVID-19 preventive measures, to facilitate the work of federal government entities.
According to the circular, unvaccinated employees will not be allowed entry to federal government entities starting 3rd January, 2022. Moreover, federal government entities must adhere to the guidelines issued by the competent authorities and urge their employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible to be allowed to enter their workplace.
The move was announced on the same day that Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) revealed 2,556 new coronavirus cases, another rise on the day before, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the UAE to 764,493.
According to the Ministry, the infected individuals from various nationalities, are in a stable condition, and receiving the necessary care. MoHAP also announced 1 death due to COVID-19 complications, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 2,165. MoHAP also noted that an additional 908 individuals had fully recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 745,963.
The FAHR authority called on the ministries and federal authorities to ensure that all their employees have received the booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, stressing the importance of having all federal government employees take the booster shot within a month from this circular’s date of issuance, and in line with UAE-approved booster shot guidelines, including vaccination time frames and eligibility for each vaccine. This step aims to ensure optimal efficiency in implementing the Green Pass on the Al Hosn app.
The authority also instructed all federal government entities to regulate procedures relating to COVID-19 positive employees and contact tracing by using, as a reference, FAHR’s instruction manual on ways of dealing with employees who are suspected or confirmed of having COVID-19 and those who came into contact with positive cases in the workplace. Federal government entities must also abide by the mechanisms for registering such cases, as well as vaccinated employees and remote work applications, in federal government-approved electronic systems.
The authority stressed the urgency of having all federal authorities adhere to precautionary measures to limit the spread of epidemics in workplaces, by implementing the FAHR-issued instruction manual on the office work environment and working from the office in emergency situations, and the mechanisms for dealing with those seeking government services or visitors to federal government entities, as well as the penalty guide of the violations committees at federal government entities when dealing with employees who fail to comply with precautionary measures.
The authority noted that these procedures and guidelines may be updated or amended in line with the latest requirements of health authorities, and in coordination with authorities concerned with emergencies and crises.
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