'We can't back down': Business warns returning to work from home won't work for them

It said it was expected to “resul in a substantial increase in infections, hospitalizations and unfortunately, deaths, at a time when our communities and health systems are already under stress”.

Among measures including increasing vaccination rates, the group advised employers to review their occupational health and safety risks and “consider the appropriateness of some employees working from home and supporting employees to take time off when sick”.

Major wholesale retailers including Coles said they were prepared for any increase in COVID-19 numbers.Credit:Paul Jeffers

The advice comes amid a sharp increase in cases. Victoria recorded 7934 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, while New South Wales reached 8670 new cases. There are more than 300,000 active cases across the country and hundreds of people die of COVID-19 every week.

Governments across the country are wary of reintroducing the mandate, insisting the country is in a new phase of the pandemic and the public is tired of the mandate. On Sunday, federal Health Secretary Mark Butler said there was “no suggestion” to reinstate the mask mandate during the winter.

“We’re out of … lockdowns and mandates and emergency payments,” he told ABC Insiders.

Last week, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard warned against the mandate and argued the rules could jeopardize mental well-being. On Sunday, Victoria’s acting Prime Minister Jacinta Allan stressed that Victorians should wear masks in high-risk places where they are still required, such as public transport and hospitals, and stay home if they feel unwell.

Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton recently said decision makers need to weigh community exhaustion with public health measures. Credit:Simon Schluter

Queensland Deputy Prime Minister Steven Miles encouraged people to wear masks indoors but said the government would not mandate it. South Australian police commissioner Grant Stevens, who controls the public health directive, said recently that the mask mandate “to consider” depends on the rate of hospitalization, but would be a “last resort”.

Victoria is the only state where the law requires the government to issue advice from health officials to ministers. In the latest advice published on June 20, chief health officer Brett Sutton noted decision makers need to take into account “public exhaustion with public health measures and the pandemic more broadly”.

Australian Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said given Australia’s high vaccination rate, the mandate to work from home would be wrong and harm the economy.

“With one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, no matter what we do, we cannot retreat to Delta or the initial Omicron setup, which will hinder our recovery and cripple small businesses,” said the head of Australia’s largest business lobby group.

Business Council Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said a work-from-home mandate would hurt the economy.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A Commonwealth Bank spokesman said the company’s office staff had returned to work in a “hybrid” capacity since March and the company would continue to monitor the changing situation.

Other large city-based companies including Australia Post and AGL offer flexible work policies that allow staff to spend part of their time at home, and these policies will continue.

Brendan Coates, program director of economic policy at the Grattan Institute, said that while it seemed unlikely the government would mandate work-from-home arrangements again, workers could choose to do so if the number of cases rose further.

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This could shift spending, particularly in hospitality, out of the city centre, he said.

“Clash [of work-from-home orders] has shifted economic activity from the CBD back to the suburbs where people live.”

Employers in sectors with many frontline workers, such as retail, are feeling the pressure of staff shortages due to illness.

“Staff absenteeism due to sick leave from COVID and flu is adding to retailers’ current woes with labor shortages crippling the economy,” said Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra.

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Nonetheless, major wholesale retailers Woolworths, Coles and Aldi said they were prepared for any increase in the number of cases.

“We have seen some absenteeism during the winter flu season which is not unusual … these levels are well below what we saw during the first Omicron wave in January,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.

Professor James McCaw, who advised the AHPPC for the first two years of the pandemic, said he did not believe the optimal mandate was three years into the pandemic.

“They are not necessarily the most effective way to get people on board. It’s time to deliver a positive message to enable people to understand how to keep themselves and their communities safe,” he said.

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