July 13, 2022 — 5.00am
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Employment lawyers are warning workers that their bosses can compel them to show up at the office even in the face of surging coronavirus cases.
The widespread transmission of COVID-19 and influenza cases is leading to a huge spike in sick days being taken across the country, raising the possibility that staff may be sent back to home offices to stop the spread.
The idea of a pivot back to remote work has angered employer groups, while small businesses have told this masthead they have relaxed their policies to let staff spend more time at home.
Employment law experts told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that given there are no current government mandates to work from home, if a worker’s employer wants them in the office they don’t have much power to insist otherwise.
Most standard employment contracts will state or imply that workers must follow the requests of their employer provided they are lawful and reasonable.
Employment and industrial law barrister Ian Neil, SC, said it is difficult to argue that a direction to work from the office is unreasonable in a climate where citizens can do all manner of activities freely, including attending airports without a mask.
“Increasingly, as society adapts [to the virus] it becomes less and less likely that an employee will be able to argue a direction to return to work is unreasonable,” he said.
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