In brief 1 min read
Virgin Australia and Telstra have announced they intend to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for frontline staff, in the wake of similar announcements from Qantas and SPC.
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Key takeaways
- Virgin Australia has announced that it is intending to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for all frontline employees by 15 November 2021. A final policy will be announced after consultation with unions, which is scheduled to commence shortly.
- Telstra has also announced plans to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for its 8300 frontline staff, with the relevant staff expected to have their second vaccination by 15 November 2021.
- This follows similar announcements by Qantas and SPC. Qantas has stated that it will require all frontline workers to be fully vaccinated by 15 November 2021, with all other employees required to be fully vaccinated by 31 March 2022. According to a survey conducted by Qantas, 75% of its employees support this approach. SPC was the first Australian employer to adopt a mandatory vaccination requirement for entry, including visitors, to all sites. All SPC employees and contractors must be fully vaccinated by late November 2021. Employees will be given paid vaccination leave.
Further information
For more on this topic, please see our Insight Mandatory vaccinations in the workplace: what do employers need to consider?.
Allens has also hosted a webinar to discuss further the relevant issues when introducing a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.