Following the announcement by the Federal Government on 8 May 2020 to ease restrictions in place to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western Australian Government has released its ‘four-phase roadmap’ to navigate our state’s return to some normalcy and provide our economy with a much-needed boost.
In light of this roadmap, what are some of the important workplace considerations for Employers?
Current status – Phase 1
The 10-person indoor and outdoor rule for non-work gatherings are currently in place and is expected to be eased on 18 May 2020.
Employees are still currently expected to work from home if that is the agreement in place between employees and employers.
18 May 2020 – Phase 2
This next phase would see indoor and outdoor non-work gatherings increased to 20 people, and some hospitality venues are expected to open subject to only allowing 20 patrons on-site at any given time.
Relevantly, ‘Western Australians are encouraged to return to work, unless they are unwell or vulnerable’.
Phase 3 is expected to follow around 4 weeks after the implementation of phase 2 and phase 4 shortly after that subject to the Chief Health Officer’s advice.
Subject to the successful ongoing management of the spread of COVID-19, the Government has foreshadowed that Western Australians will return to ‘normal’ by the end of June 2020, while the Federal 3-step plan envisages a full return of employees to workplaces by July 2020.
Considerations for Employers when returning to work
According to the four-phase roadmap, businesses are required to prepare a COVID safety plan before reopening to protect employees and patrons.
We currently do not have clear guidelines on what a plan may look like, however, we expect to see a proforma plan and guidelines released by the Government in due course.
We expect it would include measures in place such as ensuring employee overall wellbeing (including their mental health), continuing with practical measures such as sanitation and ongoing social distancing measures for at least the foreseeable future.
The National Covid-19 Coordination Commission has released a ‘planning tool’ to assist employers to develop, as far as reasonably practicable, a safe return for employees which complements the useful resources available on SafeWork’s website.
Employer risks post COVID-19
Once the economy restarts and businesses gradually return to operations and activities pre-COVID-19, the most pressing risks for employers might include the following:
- Managing a return to work strategy for employees in light of potential increased COVID-19 cases and ongoing social distancing rules which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future;
- Implementing compliant and robust safety plans;
- Managing any contractual variations that were implemented at the outset of the pandemic, which may now need to be reviewed and adjusted to support the return to work strategy adopted by the employer;
- Increased concerns regarding the wellbeing of employees’ mental health as a result of the isolation and working from home challenges which could result in increased workers’ compensation claims and absences;
- Managing potential disputes that may arise from the JobKeeper scheme which is scheduled for review by the Government end of June 2020, and expires on 30 September 2020;
- Navigating any employment disputes as a result of being stood down, or made redundant in the wake of the pandemic;
- Revisiting and adapting, if necessary the business’ industrial strategy in view of current and forecasted changes to operations;
- Privacy concerns regarding the recent Federal Government’s COVIDSafe tracing app (which to date, is not mandatory); and
- Effective communication and engagement with the workforce regarding ongoing workplace changes including compliance with any consultation requirements set out in enterprise agreements or modern awards that may apply to employees.
Key takeaways
We recommend that, as a minimum, employers:
- implement a safety plan to ensure employees return to work safely; and
- revisit the strategies that were implemented pre-COVID to ensure that those strategies continue to support a return to work in a ‘post-virus’ environment.
For some, this may also be an opportunity to explore and plan innovative ways to achieve ongoing flexibility with workers and improve work arrangements, to generally expand business and assist with managing the ongoing pandemic and its economic impact.
Please contact our employment and workplace relations team on (08) 9321 0522 should you require any advice on the practical implications of any return to work strategies and safety plans to ensure (i) full compliance with any legal instruments or statutory requirements; and (ii) overall safety of your employees.
