Browsing: Coronavirus, COVID-19 | Page 5

Simple "how to" WHS Codes of Practice will be developed under an accepted recommendation from a major inquiry into a spike in agricultural fatalities, which identified risks created by COVID-19, unsuitable imported machinery and industrial manslaughter laws.

An employee who failed to complete his employer's "working from home" checklist, during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been awarded compensation, with a tribunal ruling his unergonomic home office set-up significantly contributed to his right shoulder injury.

• WHS reviews urged ahead of impending psychosocial changes;
  
• COVID-era return-to-work outcomes revealed; and
  
• Crane, hydration and zoonoses developments from WA.

In the latest of a long list of anti-vax disputes determined by Australian tribunals, a worker has unsuccessfully claimed that she delayed complying with a COVID-19 vaccination direction because she was concerned, as a lactating mother, for the health and safety of herself and her baby.

A Fair Work Commission full bench has upheld the dismissal of a worker who contended he should not have been sacked for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 because of his recent heart attack and leave status.

A Bill banning insurance against WHS penalties in the Commonwealth jurisdiction, and "lowering the bar" for safety convictions, has passed both houses of Parliament without amendment, despite one colourful senator describing it as "sneaky" and "dangerous" legislation, and others calling for provisions blocking vaccine mandates.

An appeals tribunal has confirmed that being exposed to sanitisers widely-used during the COVID-19 pandemic caused a worker to develop a compensable sensitivity to various workplace chemicals.

A much higher number of workplace types than expected has been linked to significant infectious disease risks, highlighting the need for more widespread preventive actions.

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.

Organisations need to do much more to help their employees balance work and family responsibilities to avoid burnout, both during and outside of times of crisis or emergency, researchers have found.