Employers warned over health and safety amid Covid-19 workers compensation claims – The Guardian

Dozens of Australians have lodged workers compensation claims related to Covid-19, prompting fresh warnings that employers must take heed of their employees health and safety during the pandemic.

Experts say employer obligations include ensuring physical distancing and good hygiene practices at workplaces that remain open.

Bosses must also take steps to ensure the wellbeing of employees who have switched to working-from-home arrangements including ensuring they have access to mental health support.

Based on responses from numerous state-based agencies, Guardian Australia is aware of at least 175 workers compensation claims or notifications that relate in some way to Covid-19, although this figure is not exhaustive and the coverage and method of reporting may differ from state to state.

In NSW, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority said it had been advised of 153 claims or notifications related to Covid-19, including 23 where a worker had tested positive to the disease and there was a possibility work was the main contributing factor.

A spokesperson for the authority said 101 cases in the exposure category involved workers who may have come into contact with another person such as a colleague, customer or visitor who was confirmed or suspected of having Covid-19.

Of the remaining Covid-19-related cases in NSW, 17 were linked to mental health, while the remaining 12 were classed as other injuries or diseases.

WorkSafe Victoria said it had so far received nine claims from workers impacted in some way by Covid-19. WorkCover Queensland has so far accepted six claims for work-related diagnosis of Covid-19 five of whom contracted it while on work-related overseas travel, and one while working at a restaurant, according to the Office of Industrial Relations.

Dr Stacey Jenkins, the acting head of the school of management and marketing at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, said business operators had to meet their existing health and safety obligations and bore a responsibility to support their workers, especially in uncertain, changing times such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Workers compensation definitely does extend to Covid-19 and employers need to make sure that they prepare and manage that risk in their workplace, Jenkins said.

Implementing physical distancing was the biggest challenge for those still at work, she said.

Jenkins said she was aware of construction and electrical workers who had been split into different teams and rostered on at different times, so that any outbreak could be contained and allow the business to continue operations.

Jenkins said employers should remind workers of the importance of hand hygiene to avoid the spread of Covid-19 and underline the need to stay home from work if they were sick.

The national body Safe Work Australia has called for people to be allowed to work from home where possible, but it noted that employers still needed to do what they reasonably could to manage the risks to someone operating remotely.

It said possible new issues included physical risks from a poor work environment, such as not having a proper workstation, and psychosocial risks such as isolation, reduced social support from managers and colleagues, fatigue, online harassment and family and domestic violence.

Jenkins, who is herself working from home, said an ergonomically safe work environment was important, and isolation could prove very damaging to mental health.

While managers might feel as though making contact with a worker twice a week was enough, staff were also looking for informal methods of communication, she said.

I think thats important and employers have an obligation to just make sure that they are providing them with support where they can, and providing them with other resources such as employee assistance providers or resources such as Beyond Blue.

Safe Work Australia noted that workers who sustained an injury while working from home might be eligible for workers compensation. While the rules differ from state to state, a worker would generally need to prove the injury, illness or disease arose out of or in the course of their employment.

It is not known if any cases gathered by Guardian Australia relate to working from home.

Apart from the 168 claims, notifications or accepted claims reported in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, it is understood there are at least seven cases related to Covid-19 in other states. WorkCover WA has been advised of five Covid-19-related claims, ReturnToWorkSA has received one work injury claim, and Tasmanias Department of Justice reported that one claim had been received by an insurer.

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Employers warned over health and safety amid Covid-19 workers compensation claims - The Guardian