The constitutionality of COVID 19 Vaccination Policies and its implications on the right to freedom of religion in South Africa

Abstract

Covid-19 was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a disease affecting people over a large geographical area. It caused severe illness to millions of people around the world and the death of over four million people. This impact on people had a direct effect on employers, employees and the workplace. Religions and those practicing their religion weren’t spared from the impact of Covid-19. To control the impact of Covid-19 on the workplace, employers were obligated to take steps to keep the workplace safe and to ensure that businesses can reopen in a manner that would ensure the safety of employees and the public. One of the measures taken by employers to ensure the safety of the workplace was the introduction of vaccination policies. These policies varied from workplace to workplace, but a consistent feature was that employees were required to be vaccinated to return to the workplace. If such workplace were to be implemented without exception, it would fail to recognise the fact that certain religious practices and certain people who practice various religions do not permit vaccines, and where they do, only certain vaccines are allowed. As there is no specific legislation governing the implementation of vaccination policies in the workplace, many employees across South Africa believed these policies unjustifiably limited rights protected by the Constitution, including the right to religion. The courts have accepted that vaccination policies may have the effect of limiting rights that are protected in terms of the Bill of Rights. Still, such limitations may be justified where the employer takes steps and introduces such a policy where necessary to ensure the safety of the workplace.