Employers that issue "worker permits" to employees capable of working from home, or without implementing a COVID Safe Plan, could be fined $100,000 under pandemic restrictions commencing in Victoria tonight. Meanwhile, NSW has established a permit system for workers entering the State from Victoria, and Queensland has closed its border to NSW, with exemptions for essential workers.
Employers have been warned they bear the onus of ensuring their sites comply with the new COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, which include stringent PPE requirements and workforce caps in many cases, while doctors have warned of the consequences of never "switching off" while working from home during the pandemic.
Business and union groups have joined forces to call for the urgent introduction of a paid pandemic leave scheme, saying the outbreaks of COVID-19 in Victoria - which entered a "state of disaster" last night - show workers are attending work while infectious and accelerating community transmission.
NSW has lived up to its promise to step up enforcement of coronavirus health orders by fining 10 employers in a blitz. Meanwhile, a Victorian workplace with COVID-19 cases has been closed following Fair Work Commission talks and a visit from an occupational physician.
Managers and leaders distressed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on business are at risk of creating toxic, mentally unsafe workplaces for years to come, a psychologist has warned.
With Victoria recording 723 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the State Government has extended its face mask rule to all regions and vowed to do more to control the work-related pandemic risks, while NSW has extended its hygiene marshal requirement to another industry.
Employers could be fined nearly $200,000 for failing to comply with new notification regulations for COVID-19 in Victoria. Meanwhile, a WHS regulator has issued an alert to help duty holders identify fake respirators during the pandemic.
Workplace exposure to biological agents that cause infectious diseases, allergies and cancers needs to be managed through the same "lifecycle" approach applied to dusts and chemicals, and without relying on PPE, according to Europe's peak work safety body.
A "significant deterioration" in the COVID-19 situation in Victoria and NSW, and the elevated risk of workplace exposure to the virus, have driven a Fair Work Commission full bench's decision to include paid pandemic leave in three modern awards. Meanwhile, a union and an on-demand company have reached an agreement on pandemic protections for workers.
