Discussing the possibility of companies wanting to make COVID vaccination compulsory, this is a complex topic; personally, corporately and litigiously.
There may be some ground legally under the OHS Legislations, but each employer would need to be able to justify why they believed this to be the case, and it is recommended that they seek independent legal advice.
In deciding to mandate vaccination, a company would need to establish if any direction to employees to be vaccinated was lawful and reasonable. Given that in Australia presently we have no to low levels of community transmission (FEB21), currently this would be a very difficult argument to support.
The Cold Chain, on the whole, don’t tend to work with at-risk groups, (for example, the elderly or with people with co-morbidity factors), therefore the Cold Chain could be deemed as a lower risk employer group. As a result it is unlikely that the Cold Chain would be able to mandate vaccinations for employees and would be, as an Industry, well advised to support the path of education and encouragement instead.
For additional reading, please refer to the links below;
Compulsory Vaccinations for Employees, The Legal Position
https://www.swaab.com.au/publication/compulsory-vaccinations-for-employees-the-legal-position?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=LinkedIn-integration
Can Employers Mandate the COVID-19 Vaccine?
https://www.colemangreig.com.au/BlogPost-1615-can-employers-mandate-the-covid-19-vaccine.aspx
Can Employers Implement Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccines in the workplace
The Australian Government is securing an additional vaccine workforce and working to deliver essential training to everyone who will administer the vaccinations.
https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/mobilising-australias-covid-19-vaccine-workforce
Rural Rollout of Vaccine
https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/covid-19-vaccine-rollout-for-regional-rural-and-remote-australians
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