Australia’s past Covid-19 strategies are failing against the current Delta outbreak. The Government’s focus is consequently now firmly on vaccination rates. With some business mandating COVID vaccinations in the workplace what are the rights & obligations?
Doherty Institute modelling advises easing restrictions only once vaccination rates reach 70–80%
Facing operational constraints, many employers have mandated vaccination with set completion deadlines. QANTAS is an example of this.
In Australia, COVID vaccines are free and voluntary.
The tiers are:
- Tier 1 work – where workers are required as part of their role to interact with people with an increased risk of being infected with Covid-19 e.g. frontline workers
- Tier 2 work – where workers are in contact with vulnerable people e.g. health care & aged care workers
- Tier 3 work – where there is interaction workers and other people such as customers, co-workers or the public as part of their roles, e.g. retail & stores providing essential goods & services
- Tier 4 work – where workers have minimal face-to-face interaction as part of their normal duties, e.g. employees working from home
Where possible employers should take the approach of encouraging, rather than mandating workers to get vaccinated as this will minimise the risks of legal action taken against them by employees based on discrimination or unfair dismissal.
For further information, please contact us or refer below.
Source: FairWork
Title: COVID-19 vaccinations: workplace rights and obligations
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