Attorney General, Sarah Louise Mitchell, provided a detailed presentation on Friday regarding the legal and administrative framework for the reinstatement of public officers who were dismissed due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate,.
Her remarks focused on the implementation of a government policy designed to restore jobs and benefits through a collaborative process involving a committee of stakeholders, including union representatives.
The Attorney General outlined several specific decisions approved by the Cabinet to facilitate the return of these workers:
Resumption of Duties: All officers must report in person to their previous ministry, department, or the office of the Chief Personnel Officer. The official resumption date is recorded as the day they first reported in person from 1 December onwards.
Placements: Workers are to be appointed to similar or equivalent positions to those they held at the time of dismissal. If they cannot return to their original ministry, they will be matched to posts that fit their skills or qualifications.
Deadlines: The deadline for all resumptions is 30 January 2026; no resumptions will be considered after this date.
Vacation Leave: Earned leave accumulated prior to dismissal is recognised, though no leave accrued during the period workers were out of the service. Generally, workers are expected to serve for three months before taking leave, though exceptions can be considered.
Mitchell clarified how the government would handle retirement for affected individuals:
Retirement Eligibility: Those who reached retirement age while dismissed are eligible for benefits under existing pension laws.
The Resumption Requirement: To receive these benefits, individuals must first resume work to complete the necessary paperwork.
Compulsory Retirement: For those who reached the compulsory retirement age of 60, service extensions are granted to cover the resumption date so they can obtain their benefits without actually having to return to active duties,.
Back Pay: The decision regarding remuneration for the time spent out of the service (back pay) has been deferred to a later date, as the final number of resuming officers will not be known until after the January deadline.
External Employment: Officers currently employed in the private sector or overseas can be granted unpaid leave for up to one year to settle their current obligations, provided they first resume their public service duties in person.
Ineligibility: It was agreed that persons who choose not to resume their duties will not be eligible for benefits.
Extended Coverage: The policy applies equally to employees of state-owned enterprises, statutory bodies, auxiliary police, and teachers at assisted schools.
The Attorney General reported significant progress in the placement process, noting that of the 116 persons who had not returned prior to December 2025, 100 have now resumed.
Of those 100, 92 have already been placed in positions, including all 14 returning members of the police services. She also confirmed that these new arrangements and the committee’s ongoing consultations will also impact workers who returned to service before the current government took office.