Why businesses must step up to stop workplace COVID transmission

The latest Flu Tracking data showed that businesses are still battered by COVID-induced absenteeism and disruption, with 2.25 per cent of people off work from sickness.

The figures are already five times last year’s levels and significantly higher than the five-year average of 1.5 per cent.  

However, the impact of COVID goes beyond having people taking some time off from work. Hundreds of thousands of Australians are estimated to be suffering from “long-COVID” — which is a potentially debilitating condition that follows the acute or early phase of COVID infection. 

People affected with this condition have described many symptoms, the most common being shortness of breath, fatigue, fever, headaches and “brain fog”.

According to the University of Sydney, one in 20 people with COVID is still experiencing the disease’s symptoms three months later. With around 8 million Australians estimated to have been infected with COVID during the pandemic, a prevalence of 5 per cent means 400,000 people could have long COVID. 

This alarming number translates into a significant financial hit on the economy, with long COVID estimated to cost the country a staggering $100 million per week. If current costs persist, data indicates that the financial impact could reach up to $5 billion a year. 

While COVID remains a public concern, the lifting of restrictions and mandates has drastically shifted the responsibility of community public health from the general masses to business owners to look out for the safety of their workers. 

This shift is more evident in recent times, as businesses unveiled their respective “return to site” or “return to office” announcements. 

But getting workers back in offices is easier said than done. According to a new study by ADP Research Institute, two in three (65 per cent) 25- to 34-year-olds have admitted they would consider finding another role if they were asked to return to the office full-time.

Separate data from the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that 35 per cent of Aussies working at least one day per week at home take the same courses of action if ordered to return to the office full-time — citing lingering concerns about COVID infection risks as one of their main reasons. 

To address this pain point, it’s vital for businesses to be fully aware of their legal responsibilities in managing the health and safety in the workplace. 

According to Fair Work and Safe Work Australia, employers have a duty under the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws to eliminate or minimise the risks of COVID-19 at work so far as is reasonably practicable.

“Businesses have got to make sure that they implement a fit for purpose response to the COVID place we find ourselves in now,” according to Graham Gordon, the chief executive of Gardian and its namesake rapid antigen test.

But as the face of the pandemic drastically changed over the last years, there is confusion on certain aspects of the WHS guidelines on COVID. 

For example, the COVID-19 isolation period has been reduced from seven to five days, but some business leaders have overlooked that the new ruling only applies to asymptomatic individuals and the protocol does not apply to high-risk workplaces. 

Additionally, the exact period someone is deemed to be “contagious” varies based on the severity of the infection, vaccination status, and the person’s immune system. It should also be noted that people suppressed immune systems may be contagious for weeks or even longer.

And while WHS mitigation requirements may appear ambiguous, the penalty for non-compliance and potential for workers’ compensation claims is clear. 

According to a report in Allens Insights, an employer may be found liable for a COVID-19-related death or injury where it can be established that the employee contracted COVID-19 in the course of their employment, and their work-related activities were the main contributing factor to the COVID-19 infection.

In a ruling released on September 2021, the Personal Injury Commission of NSW found an employer liable for the death of an employee who contracted COVID-19 during their employment and ordered them to pay the widow an $834,000 lump-sum death benefit and weekly compensation for the period of the deceased’s hospitalisation.

With these things in mind, it’s understandable that firms may find that adequately protecting their staff, meeting WHS duties and safeguarding their business to be a tough juggling act. 

But there are ways in order to do it cost-efficiently and effectively. For example, employers worried about the effect of COVID on their workforce should require staff to test negative on a rapid antigen test before they return to the worksite.

According to Mr Gordon, “return testing” must be done in conjunction with a digital verification, recording and reporting platform that ensures the test was done currently and can be traceable. 

This does not only provide employers with the peace of mind that the employee is well, but the expert said that such stringent measure would ensure businesses that they are “eliminating the ingress of COVID-19 at the workplace and that they are protecting the workforce and greater community in a collaborative and compliant way”. 

“Employers should want employees to stay home when they have COVID-19, and they should incentivise workers to do everything they can to reduce the spread, including following the recommended isolation period and ensuring they have achieved a negative test result before they return to the workplace,” Mr Gordon stated. 

“Not only is it patently unfair to have employees at work before they are completely well, it’s also poor management.”