Push for COVID-19 to be deemed a workplace injury for front-line workers

Calls for COVID-19 to be considered a workplace injury for front-line workers, who contract the virus at work, are escalating.

Unions and lawyers have banded together to call for coronavirus to be included in the definition of a workplace injury for front-line industries.

Currently, the onus is on the employee to prove they contracted the virus at work, making it easy for employers and insurers to deny claims.

Workers who catch COVID-19 at work are not automatically guaranteed access to WorkCover compensation.

Special counsel at Shine Lawyers, Tom Bradley, said the change would ensure workers can access payments covering lost wages and out-of-pocket medical expenses.

“It’s very important that there is some sense of security for workers working in those sorts of industries that put them at significantly increased risk of contracting the virus,” he told Ross and Russel.

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