Under these laws, employers must have measures in place to eliminate and manage the risks associated with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Here is how you should manage the current situation in your workplace.
Employers should, in consultation with workers, their Health and Safety representatives and any other businesses that work in the same work space:
Assess the likelihood and consequence of infection to workers and others in the workplace.
Identify suitable control measures to eliminate or minimise risks (expert advice may be needed).
Encourage ill workers to remain away from work when unwell.
Develop an implementation plan.
Continue monitoring expert advice as the COVID-19 situation develops.
Reviewing the implementation of infection control policies, procedures and practices to ensure they are effective and are being followed.
Educating and keeping employees and other persons at the workplace up to date on new information.
Consulting with others with whom the business works, particularly contractors and labour hire providers to ensure they are also being active, to the extent necessary, in managing the risk.
Monitoring changes in the law and official recommendations. For example:
General obligations
Employers must:
Identify the hazards at the workplace and those associated with the way work is performed.
Assess the risks at the workplace.
Implement suitable control measures to first eliminate and if elimination is not possible, minimise, risks. For example:
Provide information, instruction, training or supervision as is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health. For example:
Provide adequate facilities.
Monitor the health of employees and other persons at all workplaces.
Where employees have been instructed to work at home, ensure there is effective communication with the employee.
Employees must:
Take reasonable care for his or her own health.
Take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of others.
Comply, so far as the employee is reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction that is given by the business.
Co-operate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the business relating to health at the workplace that has been notified to workers.
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Everyone should:
Frequently wash hands their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand rub.
When coughing and sneezing, cough into your upper sleeve and shoulder or a disposable tissue.
Dispose of tissues immediately and use alcohol-based hand sanitiser after disposing.
If unwell, avoid contact with others (e.g. shaking hands, touching faces, hugging, and other intimate contact).
Maintain vigilance (e.g. don’t take a night off to mix it with the crowds in an unprotected way).
Employers should:
Consider establishing a customary non-contact greeting (e.g. bowing) and display posters promoting the non-contact greeting so visitors feel at ease.
Consider installing high-efficiency air filters.
Consider increasing ventilation rates in the work environment, including negative pressure ventilation.
Consider installing physical barriers, such as clear plastic sneeze guards.
Promote frequent and thorough hand washing by employees, customers and other visitors,
Make sure that employees, contractors and customers have access to facilities where they can wash their hands with soap and water.
Regularly change soap or use liquid pump soap.
Ensure an adequate supply of paper tissues is available throughout the workplace.
Provide closed bins for hygienic disposal of used tissues.
High touch surfaces (e.g. counters, desks and tables) and objects (e.g. telephones, keyboards) are wiped with disinfectant regularly.
Actively promote good hand hygiene in bathroom and kitchen amenities, and good respiratory hygiene in prominent places where close customer or worker contact occurs.
Display a poster prompting employee and others to maintain good hand hygiene and good respiratory hygiene.
Discourage employees from using other workers’ phones, desks, offices, or other work tools and equipment, when possible.
Restricting the number of personnel entering isolation areas.
Establishing alternating days or extra shifts that reduce the total number of employees in a facility at a given time, allowing them to maintain distance from one another while maintaining a full onsite work week.
Discontinuing nonessential travel on high density vehicles (e.g. planes).
Discontinuing nonessential travel to locations with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks.
Depending on the nature of the work, training employees who need to use PPE how to put it on, use/wear it, and take it off correctly, including in the context of their current and potential duties.
Employers should develop a response plan for if an employee presents with COVID-19 in consultation with workers and/or their HSRs, considering government health advice.
The plan should cover:
Workers’ individual risk factors (e.g. diabetes, heart and lung disease, older age; presence of chronic medical conditions, including immunocompromising conditions; pregnancy).
How to manage someone who is at higher risk of being affected by COVID-19.
How to manage someone who has been with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
How to identify persons who may be at risk, and support them, without inviting stigma and discrimination into your workplace.
Considering government recommendations and requirements.
If arrangements should be made for their transport either to a doctor or to their home, preferably not using public transport.
Recording those who become ill and leave the workplace and the people they have had close or casual contact with.
What to do when a person with suspected infection has left the workplace (e.g. ensure the person’s workstation, work area and any communal areas they have been in are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected).
This information has been compiled from the following resources:
It is important to note this information does not represent legal advice and you should seek specific legal advice for your circumstances. We recommend Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors to help find solutions and minimise risk on your workplace.
With over 25 years’ experience Alan Girle is a specialist workplace and employment lawyer with focus on work health and safety (WHS) and other regulatory law.
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