COVID-19 Vaccine: Employer Obligations
As Australia embarks on its ambitious vaccine roll out scheme, many employers are understandably wondering how their obligations and responsibilities fit into this.
FairWork has offered some clarity, stating that per the situation as is, the “overwhelming majority of employers should assume that they won’t be able to require their employees to be vaccinated against coronavirus.”
Legal requirements
Legal obligations to be vaccinated must be made on the back of public health orders (such as the public health orders which have mandated the wearing of masks) and any other specific law. Employers (and employees) should look to the relevant State or Territory Health Departments for any such public health orders relating to mandatory vaccination.
However, as of now, there are no such public health orders requiring employees to receive the coronavirus vaccine and the Federal government are following a policy of voluntary vaccination.
Contracts
Individual contracts may contain provisions relating to vaccinations and specifically coronavirus vaccinations. If so, the provisions will need to be closely examined and are ultimately likely to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Nevertheless, any requirement will need to be interpreted and applied in light of anti-discrimination laws too.
High risk industries
It is worth noting that the public health orders discussed earlier are more likely to be issued with regards to workers in high-risk workplaces or industries (such as frontline health staff, defence, police, and food processing).
At the time of publication, no such health orders have been made.
What does this mean?
News of the vaccine rollout continues to be a hot topic and information surrounding obligations is likely to also continue developing and remain subject to change. Therefore, keeping abreast of these developments and their implications for employers and employees will be critical.
FairWork, the Department of Health and the respective State and Territory Health Departments will all be the most valuable sources of reliable information.