Although working from home provides a range of benefits, it’s important that the risks are also considered. Any arrangement for working from home needs to be managed effectively.
Where allowing work from home, the local government still has a duty of care to the workers when working in that environment to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision of safe systems of work and a safe work environment.
Congratulations to the Shire of Yilgarn who were award their Tier 3 Silver diligence in Safety Award. James Sheridan, CEO LGIS and Christ Gilmour, Risk Specialist – Regional visited the
Shire on Tuesday 26 February to meet the Yilgarn team and present the award.
In February this year the Australian Tax Office (ATO) made a private ruling on the following question: ‘Is the income compensation component of the redemption settlement payable under Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) included in your assessable income under section 6-5 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth)?’ The ATO’s very short answer was ‘Yes’.
It’s a question very few people want to ask but given the current cyber risk landscape shows no signs of slowing, it’s likely an inevitable question for organisations, including local governments.
Working from home, safety and workers’ compensation had a moment in the spotlight in late 2024 raising questions for LGIS members. In South Australia a local government employee won a claim for workers’ compensation after falling over a pet fence while working from home. The South Australian Employment Tribunal ruled her injuries, including a broken arm and injured right knee, arose out of her employment.
The claimant carried out her duties mainly in the office, however worked from home occasionally. She injured herself when she tripped and fell over a metal pet fence which she constructed for the purposes of keeping a colleagues’ puppy away from her pet rabbit.
The magistrate found that the fall occurred during an “authorised coffee break at her (the employees) place of employment”.
Noting that “this was something [the employee] says she would have done had she been working in the office around the same time, as she did not have set times for short breaks over the course of her working day.”
She also noted that the council had encouraged the employee “to get up from her desk regularly”.
The judgment noted that when the employee took her paid coffee break, she needed to “walk through the doorway across from where she had erected the pet fence”. It also found that although the employee had not discussed the pet fence with anyone from the council, there was “nothing that limits the application of the workers compensation scheme by reason of an injury occurring due to a feature of the workplace not known or authorised by an employer”.
Of note in this case although the claimant had been approved by the local government to work from home, she had not completed a safe work checklist. The employer did have safe working from home checklists in place which were inconsistently applied. If this checklist had been applied the hazard may have been identified and managed.
This recent case highlights a few factors for LGIS members to consider. Firstly, that if work is conducted in the home, then it is an extension of the workplace and an employer’s duty of care extends to the home. Secondly, members should turn their mind to current policies and procedures to ensure that they can demonstrate taking reasonable care to provide and assure themselves that employees working from home have a safe work environment.
From a work, health and safety perspective if you’re allowing your employees to work from home, you should:
A worksite assessment may include the following considerations:
In addition to the above local governments should set up clear performance expectations for their workers and provide regular feedback. There should be a review process for working from home arrangements so that operational requirements can be met. These should be documented and recorded.
Local governments should ensure that they are meeting their health and safety obligations, particularly on hours worked and the taking of required breaks.
WorkSafe WA has developed a range of resources to support employers in meeting their duty of care to employees working from home. Go to the WorkSafe WA website at worksafe.wa.gov.au and search ‘working from home’ to find this information.
For further advice contact the LGIS People Risk team at [email protected]
The recent WA Local Government Convention was an excellent opportunity to chat with members and talk about the issues that matter to you. LGIS also appreciated the invitation from WALGA to provide members with an update at their AGM on our 2023/24 results and achievements. For more information, our end of financial year reports, A Year in Review and Annual Financial Report, are now available on the LGIS website or you can read the article on page 18.
Even the smallest or most remote local government in Western Australia is connected to the global commercial market through their protection. Over the next few editions we’ll look at the
factors of concern and influence for each portfolio for LGIS, this edition we’re looking at LGIS Liability and Property protection.
Working from home and hybrid working is now common practice for many local governments. It offers plenty of benefits to individuals and employer alike. It can provide meaningful flexibility for employees to juggle multiple demands and is now expected by many recruits.
LGIS is the unifying name for the dedicated suite of risk financing and management services for WA local governments, established by the WA Local Government Association in conjunction with JLT Public Sector (part of the Marsh group of companies). LGIS is managed by JLT Public Sector (ABN 69 009 098 864 AFS Licence 226827).
Risk Matters, via this website, is designed to keep members, their staff and elected members informed on topical risk management and insurance issues and LGIS programs and services.
