Many factors impact on employees’ fitness for work. Beyond the obvious issues of impairment caused by alcohol and drugs, or illness or injury, are other issues like fatigue or age. Some of these issues may affect employees temporarily or permanently. Employees affected by these differing issues create a significant risk to themselves and others at work. Also, absence of capacity can have a significant impact on other workers, productivity and your business’ bottom line.
COVID-19 is raising additional issues around fitness for work. These can include returning an employee to work after having tested positive for COVID-19, or the risks of permitting employees with certain medical conditions or in certain older age groups to perform certain on site work.
Understanding legal issues associated with ensuring your workforce is fit for work creates a challenge for your Managers, Directors and HR team.
This webinar will cover:
- The types of issues that can impact on fitness for work, both work related and outside of work, with a focus on issues arising in relation to COVID-19.
- The interplay of different laws such as WHS, discrimination and workers compensation.
- Opportunities to assess fitness for work as part of pre-employment screening and during employment.
- The importance of defining the inherent requirements of a role.
- Employer’s rights to assess and test fitness for work, including medical tests, alcohol and drug testing, including discussing best practice.
- What to include in workplace contracts, policies and procedures.
- Employers’ rights to discipline employees, including terminating employment for either refusing to undergo a testing.
- Employer obligations to ageing and long term injured workers, including the need to make “reasonable adjustments”.
- The legal risks that are involved in termination of employees who are unable to perform the inherent requirements of their role.
- Practical strategies for minimising legal risk.
After this webinar participants should be able to:
- Understand how WHS, Worker Compensation, and equal opportunity laws each impact on issues associated with fitness for work.
- Understand what is meant by “the inherent requirements” of a position.
- Understand employers’ rights to assess fitness for work, including introducing drug and alcohol testing both as part of pre-employment screening and during employment.
- Understand an employers’ obligations in relation to flexible working arrangements and making “reasonable adjustments” for older workers or workers with injuries or illnesses.
- Effectively discipline or terminate employment with consideration to the appropriate legal risks, including unfair dismissal, general protections and discrimination claims.
- Implement initiatives to improve transitions for older and injured workers in a respectful and considered way.
- Understand how to have conversations that generate the best outcome for the employee and the business.
This webinar will be presented by Dan Feldman, Managing Partner at HR Legal.
Our webinars are delivered free and online, we encourage questions from participants at any time during the webinar. We also run polls and questionnaires to keep you engaged and interacting.
- Event Details:
Delivery: Online via GoToWebinar Date: Thursday, 17 September 2020 Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm AEST Cost: Free
Our seminars, webinars and workshops are for the benefit of those working in organisations who are seeking learning and development opportunities in employment law and workplace safety. As per this, we do not allow competitors to attend our seminars. HR Legal reserves the right to cancel the registration of those who may be a competitor to our organisation. Please note that if we note that your organisation offers similar services to ours we will cancel your registration.
