At our Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meeting with the Department of Education on 13 October 2021, PSA staff and Delegates requested the results of the recent staff survey about working from home and COVID-safe reopening of offices. We also asked to commence consultation over the Department’s plans to reopen corporate offices.

Read our previous bulletin on this HERE.

Consultation on the reopening plans

On 27 October 2021 PSA staff and Delegates met with the Department’s Executive Director, People and Culture who presented an outline of the proposed three-phase reopening plan and a ‘hybrid’ flexible working model in 2022. We were informed the details of the plan were provided to staff for feedback by 15 November 2021.  The three-phase plan is as follows:

1. Voluntary early adopters (capacity 40 per cent) up to 1 Dec 2021
2. Transition: every team with some presence (capacity 60 per cent) up to 31 Jan 2022
3. Hybrid working: no capacity limits, flexible working, no permission required to attend office and all staff required to be fully vaccinated or provide medical contraindication (from 31 Jan 2022 onwards).

On 29 October 2021 the PSA was provided with a pack of materials in draft for consultation – this included a copy of the survey report, intranet content, email communication to staff, Flexible Working Phase 3 resources; and corporate control procedures such as testing and vaccination requirements, incident report and support procedures, confirmed COVID case response protocols and hotline details; and supporting materials including: a manager’s information pack, FAQs to support staff and managers, vaccination procedures/quick guides, physical distancing guide, infection control protocols, checklists for managers and employees for entering and returning to the office and guidance on work-related travel.

The results of the survey which closed on 8 October were informative, as follows:

• 62.1 per cent of respondents indicated they would prefer to work from home full-time for the remainder of 2021
• 30.3 per cent of respondents would prefer to work from home full-time in 2022
• 91.6 per cent of respondents felt very satisfied with their direct manager’s communication and support during work from home; and
• 79.9 per cent of respondents reported feeling uncomfortable working in the office with unvaccinated co-workers.

Direction from the Secretary

To meet its legal health and safety obligations, the Department’s key proposal in the reopening plan is a direction from the Secretary that from 1 December 2021, all corporate staff and non-school based staff must not perform duties at Departmental schools or offices unless:

• They have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine; or
• They have been issued with a current medical contraindication certificate.

Staff must provide evidence of vaccination via the VACS attest app and to their manager upon request to perform a business-critical function in the office. This must be done no later than 30 January 2022, so that they are prepared to return to the office. All new staff will be required to be vaccinated before commencing work for the Department.

Further consultation

On 12 November 2021, PSA staff and Delegates discussed and compiled member feedback on the reopening plans at our Departmental Committee meeting. Following this, we met again with the Department on 15 November 2021 with strong Delegate representation at the meeting. In addition to the verbal feedback provided in these meetings with the Department, the PSA will provide written feedback to the Department, including a recommendation to include an additional layer of consideration regarding the double vaccination or medical contra-indication requirement be given to staff with extenuating circumstances or who intend to comply but may be unable to meet the 30 January 2022 deadline for a number of reasons. The Department indicated it is open to considering this recommendation.

Need individual support and advice?

To log any concerns or questions please contact the PSA Member Support Centre on 1300 772 679.