Keeping you and your employees safe
Last Updated: 01 July 2020
How do I keep my employees safe?
To keep workers safe and limit the spread of COVID-19, every employer should do the following at their workplace:
- allow workers to work from home, where possible
- ensure physical distancing by keeping a distance of at least 1.5 metres between people
- encourage all workers to frequently wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water or by using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser and to practise good hygiene
- be aware of how to spot COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath) and make sure workers do not come to work if they are unwell
- make sure your workplace is regularly cleaned and disinfected
- have signs and posters around the workplace to remind workers and others of the risks of COVID-19 and the measures that are necessary to stop its spread
COVID-19 work health and safety small business hub
Safe Work Australia has created a new COVID-19 work health and safety information hub for small businesses.
The new Small Business Hub has tailored information and tools to help businesses manage risks from COVID-19 and keep people safe at the workplace.
The hub has guidance and resources for businesses transitioning back to usual operations as restrictions ease, as well as businesses that have been able to stay open safely.
It also features a new series of short videos with information on key COVID-19 work health and safety topics including:
- risk assessments
- physical distancing
- cleaning the workplace
A range of other resources and tools are also available in the hub, including:
- a small business planning tool
- guidance on work health and safety duties
- practical resources including posters and checklists
Changes to your workplace
All employers are encouraged to consider alternative ways of delivering their business practices and services, such as:
- switching to online ordering
- payment and delivery
If it is not possible to work from home or redesign practices, it is vital that no worker comes to work if they have any of the following symptoms:
- fever
- cough
- sore throat
- shortness of breath
If unwell, workers should contact their primary health care provider, who can liaise with the local public health authority to determine when it is safe for them to return to work.
Protect vulnerable people in your workplace
If you have a vulnerable person working for you, you should support them to work from home where possible. If that isn’t possible, you must do a risk assessment and may need to make other work arrangements for them.
Vulnerable people – people at greater risk of serious illness if they get COVID-19 – include:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 50 years and older with one or more chronic medical conditions
- people 65 years and older with one or more chronic medical conditions
- people 70 years and older
- people with a compromised immune system
