Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with De Silva Hebron Barristers and Solicitors Special Counsel Peter Orr

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Katie Woolf spoke with De Silva Hebron Barristers and Solicitors Special Counsel Peter Orr · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Mix one O four point nine dot com dot you
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  Speaker 1: for all the latest news and information. Now three sixty
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  Speaker 1: with Katie Wolf. Everyone is listening Mix one oh four
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  Speaker 1: point nine, one hundred percent.
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  Speaker 2: Now I know that as the COVID nineteen vaccine rolls
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  Speaker 2: out around Australia, plenty of people are wondering, well if
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  Speaker 2: their workplaces might make it well, might make it compulsory
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  Speaker 2: to actually get that vaccine? And well are those you know?
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  Speaker 2: Are those workplaces able to make it compulsory? And what
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  Speaker 2: are our rights I suppose, and how can it all
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  Speaker 2: roll out? Well?
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  Speaker 3: Joining us on the line to tell us a little bit.
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  Speaker 2: More is the Silver Hebron Barristers and Solicitors, Special counsel
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  Speaker 2: Peter or good morning Peter, Katie, how are you really well?
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  Speaker 2: Thanks so much for your time this morning, Peter. As
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  Speaker 2: the vaccine rolls out, as I said, plenty of people
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  Speaker 2: are wondering if their workplaces might make it compulsory to
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  Speaker 2: get that vaccine? Can workplaces actually make the vaccine compulsory? Is?
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  Speaker 4: There's really no easy answer to that question. A lot
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  Speaker 4: of it will depend or most of it will depend
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  Speaker 4: on the industry that the employer works in. For example,
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  Speaker 4: in some industries where it's an inherent requirement of the
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  Speaker 4: job to deal with people at risks, such as health
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  Speaker 4: age care facilities, then an employer is likely to have
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  Speaker 4: the ability to issue a lawful and reasonable direction that
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  Speaker 4: its employees be vaccinated. I note in Victoria they've introduced
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  Speaker 4: some legislation, the Health Services Amendment Managery Vaccination of healthcare workers,
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  Speaker 4: and that allows the Secretary of the Department of Human
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  Speaker 4: Services to direct public hospitals and health service establishments to
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  Speaker 4: require that the employees are to be vaccinated again specified diseases.
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  Speaker 4: That's the only legislation aware of. During the pandemic, most
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  Speaker 4: of the station and territories issued public orders which required
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  Speaker 4: people involved in age care to have vaccinations against the influenza.
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  Speaker 4: So I think the bottom line is that if you
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  Speaker 4: work in an industry where it's a hot well would
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  Speaker 4: be designated as a high risk industry, then it's likely
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  Speaker 4: that it'll be an inherent requirement of your role to
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  Speaker 4: come into contact with high risk people, and the employer
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  Speaker 4: is likely to be able to issue a lawful and
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  Speaker 4: reasonable direction. If you work in an industry that's not
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  Speaker 4: high risk, then that's where it's probably going to become
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  Speaker 4: a little bit more problematic. Each industry and each employment
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  Speaker 4: situation is going to be unique. The reasons if whatmployee
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  Speaker 4: puts forward as to why they would object is also
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  Speaker 4: going to be a factory What reasonable steps an employer
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  Speaker 4: could take to accommodate an employee's objection, and what are
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  Speaker 4: the inherent requirements of the role? Yeah, so a combination
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  Speaker 4: of a lot of factors, for example, would be a
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  Speaker 4: ca Can the employer allow the employee to work from home?
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  Speaker 4: Is that a reasonable compromise? Things about nature?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, I find this really fascinating because I know
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  Speaker 2: some people are a bit sort of worried, I guess
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  Speaker 2: about about having that vaccine. But in reality, like you said,
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  Speaker 2: you know, if we've got people who are working in
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  Speaker 2: those frontline positions, it may be necessary for them to
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  Speaker 2: have the vaccine. But I guess it also sounds like
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  Speaker 2: legislation implemented or introduced by the parliament whichever state you're in,
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  Speaker 2: is going to have a big part to play as well.
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  Speaker 4: It is. But my concern is that, I mean Victoria
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  Speaker 4: obviously has, but whether political parties in power are willing
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  Speaker 4: to step up to the plate so to speak, and
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  Speaker 4: introduce that legislation. I noticed there's been a few protests.
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  Speaker 4: There was one in Dawen, I think on Saturday, and
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  Speaker 4: a few other states where people were objecting against managery vaccination.
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  Speaker 4: Political parties, probably in government, probably don't want to take
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  Speaker 4: any steps that may be perceived as being unpopular, and
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  Speaker 4: that may well depend on whether it becomes an issue.
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  Speaker 4: So is there going to be a large percentage of
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  Speaker 4: employees who object. If so, then the parliaments may look
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  Speaker 4: at legislation and Peter, we.
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  Speaker 2: Heard or we have sort of heard businesses such as
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  Speaker 2: Quantas say that people may not be able to fly
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  Speaker 2: internationally if they don't have the vaccine. Is that something
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  Speaker 2: that a business can actually implement.
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  Speaker 4: Look, if you want to fly with Kantus, or you
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  Speaker 4: want to buy products or use services for any business,
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  Speaker 4: it's a contractual relationship and so on its face, a
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  Speaker 4: business can restrict the provision of the services to whom
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  Speaker 4: it wants. However, that may be subject to anti discrimination legislation.
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  Speaker 4: And once again that comes back to whether if a
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  Speaker 4: person has a special need, such as I have a
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  Speaker 4: special need not to get vaccinated because of health. I don't,
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  Speaker 4: but that's what I'm saying, and therefore, can the airline
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  Speaker 4: do something to accommodate that. I don't think they probably can,
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  Speaker 4: given how contagious the virus is, but that would be
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  Speaker 4: certainly something they would have to consider and come to
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  Speaker 4: a conclusion so as to have a defense if there
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  Speaker 4: was a claim brought against them under the anti discrimination legislation.
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  Speaker 2: Well there, it sounds like it's going to be an
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  Speaker 2: interesting area to navigate potentially over the coming months. But
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  Speaker 2: you know, as you sort of mentioned as well, there
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  Speaker 2: might need to be some tough decisions made by different
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  Speaker 2: governments around Australia also at some point in time in
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  Speaker 2: terms of whether they do call for this to be
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  Speaker 2: mandatory or not.
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  Speaker 4: I think so. I think it's if it certainly make
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  Speaker 4: it a lot more straightforward for employers. I think it's
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  Speaker 4: unfair to some extent to put the owners onto employers
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  Speaker 4: and potentially cause disruption in their relationship with their employees.
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  Speaker 4: But what I would suggest that employers start giving some
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  Speaker 4: consideration to whether they are going to require their employees
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  Speaker 4: to get vaccinated and enter into a little bit of
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  Speaker 4: a consultation process with the employees. People by nature are
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  Speaker 4: generally happy to comply with what's required. If there's discussion
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  Speaker 4: and they're a part of the forum as opposed to
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  Speaker 4: being told you must do this.
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  Speaker 3: It's a very good point.
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  Speaker 4: If employers take that stance, then it's more likely that
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  Speaker 4: they will be able to work with their employees, either
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  Speaker 4: to get the vaccine or to reach some sort of
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  Speaker 4: a compromise.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Peter or the Silver Heirbrown Barristers and Solicitors' Special Counsel,
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  Speaker 2: I really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much
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  Speaker 2: for having a chat with us about that.
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  Speaker 4: My pleasure.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, And I'll tell you what it sounds like.
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  Speaker 2: It is going to be interesting as we're just there
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  Speaker 2: from Peter and will we see you know, governments around
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  Speaker 2: the nation decide to implement legislation or introduce legislation that
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  Speaker 2: does make this vaccine compulsory.
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  Speaker 3: Let's wait and see what happens.