The decreased visibility of workers, with remote and hybrid work arrangements becoming commonplace because of COVID-19, could be masking the fact that many employees feel compelled to "soldier on" while sick under these arrangements, creating serious wellbeing and productivity risks, new research suggests.
Large numbers of workers continue to suffer from serious and sometimes debilitating symptoms from previous COVID-19 infections, highlighting the need to identify those most at risk and implement special return-to-work plans that are regularly reviewed and amended, according to occupational health experts.
Australian researchers have identified factors contributing to the heightened risk of self-harm among workers' compensation recipients and others with disabling work injuries, and say there are numerous intervention opportunities, including for employers, "along the pathway between work disability and suicide".
A Fair Work Commission full bench has ruled that a major university was entitled to require one of its teachers to undergo an independent medical examination, after he took extended sick leave and told senior management, "When I go to class I am going to war. The students are waiting to kill me."
A Federal judge has concluded that undertaking a rehabilitation program is not "work" as prescribed by WHS laws - a finding that precludes a worker from making an adverse action claim over her dismissal.
The termination of a long-serving firefighter who refused to disclose his COVID-19 vaccination status while on annual leave has been ruled unfair, with a commission finding his employer embarked on a "well-worn disciplinary path" without carefully considering his correspondence on the issue.
The National Cabinet's decision to scrap mandatory isolation requirements for COVID-19 cases will help businesses maintain or increase workforce numbers, but will also require them to maintain stringent health and safety practices to stop the spread of the coronavirus, according to peak employer bodies.
