According to research conducted by the Australian Productivity Commission, 40% of Australian’s are now working from home compared to 8% prior to the pandemic, increasing the number of employees working within home office or flexible workplace environments. This provides an opportune time for employers to update policies and procedures and to re-induct employees as they return to the office, in an effort to enhance employee knowledge of responsibilities and the ongoing development of company culture.
As an employer it is YOUR responsibility and obligation to ensure that your employees have knowledge of company policies and procedures, and to evidence efforts in developing employee awareness. Our recent blog post on an employee claim, identifies the importance of employer efforts to continuously educate employees of policies and how this can have costly repercussions if not upheld. Employers can promote employee awareness and education through the provision of mandatory workplace checklists, documented evidence of employee induction efforts, regular audits of working environments in consideration of workplace health and safety and productivity, and the inclusion of employee feedback within the ongoing development of policy.
This surge in employees working from home provides a platform for you to assess the success and suitability of current ‘working from home’ policies and to use employee feedback to make effective adjustments. Any injury that is determined within an employee’s working environment is the responsibility of the employer. Therefore, the employer must demonstrate that they have done everything within their reasonable capacity to create a safe working environment through environmental measures, and employee education and acknowledgement. Even when an employee takes a lunch break, the employer can still be held accountable for any injuries acquired in this time, and this remains applicable within the home office environment. For example, an employer may be liable to compensate loss of wages and expenses for an employee working from a home office that acquires an injury by falling down stairs whilst going to make a coffee.
We cannot stress enough the importance in updating policies and procedures and conducting regular audits of all employee working environments! Assurance HR Management regularly conduct HR and WHS reviews for businesses, providing detailed analysis and business specific feedback of areas that requisite improvement or urgent action. Not only do we offer this guidance, but we can also save you time and effort by actioning and making the necessary adjustments to see your company compliant with best practice and legislation. Contact us today on 1800 577 515 to speak with one of our advisors about organising a review.
