'Legal and reasonable': Why bosses can force you back into the office
“In almost every case, the request [to return to the office] would be a lawful request, provided that returning to work does not involve any illegality outside the scope of the employment contract,” Wakefield said. More than 94 per cent of Australians over the age of 12 have now had at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and with COVID-19 restrictions currently minimal, a return to work request would “likely make sense”. “Increasingly, as society adapts [to the virus] the less likely it is that an employee will be able to unreasonably debate the direction to return to work.” Employment and industrial law attorney Ian Neil SC “You’re going to need more than general anxiety about catching COVID-19 or the flu … you’re probably going to need some pretty extreme exceptions,” Wakefield said. Therefore, employees who refuse an employer’s directive to return to the office could potentially expose themselves to disciplinary action. While employers can force attendance under reasonable circ