21 Apr 2021

What are people's employment rights if stranded by Covid

From First Up, 5:36 am on 21 April 2021

An employment lawyer says people should not be worried about losing their job if they go into lockdown in Australia, saying the risk is no greater than someone breaking their leg on a skiing trip and being unable to get back to work. This comes after Vodafone told staff that they could lose their jobs if they become stranded in Australia for an "extended period" should there be a Covid outbreak and the trans-Tasman travel bubble closed. The telco has since walked back from these comments, saying it had wanted to cover all possible scenarios, no matter how unlikely. Our producer Matthew Theunissen asked employment lawyer Charles McGuinness what people's rights are should they become stranded in Australia.