[imagesource: Getty Images]

I would put my desire to return to an office setting at a solid zero, and that number hasn’t fluctuated much over the past few months.

Then again, working from home is a luxury not afforded to many South Africans, and once everyday citizens are in line to get the jab, some thorny legal issues are sure to arise.

The number of South African adults who say they’re willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine fluctuates from one study to another. Recently, according to a poll conducted by the Western Cape Health Department, just 54% of the province’s healthcare workers said they wanted to be vaccinated.

A mid-December poll found as many as 47% of South Africans said they’d refuse a vaccine, but it appears that common sense is prevailing, with a University of Johannesburg study out this week saying 67% of adults would take the vaccine.

Even using the most recent figure as a guide, there are sure to be some very awkward workplace situations arising, and whether or not employers can insist that employees receive the vaccine is being discussed.

According to labour lawyer Danie Pretorius, who spoke with The Money Show’s Bruce Whitfield, this is one that could go all the way to the highest court in the land:

“It’s a difficult question… I think it’ll be decided by the Constitutional Court…

The rights of the employers should trump the individual… my view is that you would be able to insist on vaccination… There are a variety of options such as the lockout remedy…

I suspect that if there is this Constitutional challenge [employers mandating vaccination] … they will seek a recusal [of Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng] …”

That would be entirely justified, given Mogoeng’s ridiculous outburst linking COVID-19 vaccines to a “Satanic agenda”.

Our Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa there, displaying ignorance of the highest order.

Whether you’re on the employee or employer side of the spectrum, it’s worth giving the discussion a quick listen:

[source:capetalk]