Google mandating staff to get vaccinated hits roadblock in Australia

Google is mandating staff worldwide to have COVID-19 vaccinations to return to the office, but the tech giant may struggle to enforce the policy in Australia.

Facebook has quickly followed suit, requiring its workers in the United States to be vaccinated for an office return, though the social network’s policy does not apply in Australia at this stage with companies here more limited in what they can require employees to do.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce is considering making vaccination mandatory for aviation workers, while local tech firms like Atlassian and Zip are giving workers leave to encourage vaccination rather than making it compulsory.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has mandated Google employees get vaccinated to return to the office. Credit:Eric Risberg

Google announced its policy in an email sent by chief executive Sundar Pichai to the company’s more than 130,000 employees worldwide. He said the requirement to be vaccinated would be first imposed in the United States before being extended to the more than 40 other countries where Google operates.

Mr Pichai said Google’s vaccine mandate would be adjusted to adhere to the laws and regulations of each location with exceptions for medical and other “protected” reasons, and would not apply until vaccines were widely available in an area.

“Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead,” he wrote.

A spokesperson for Google Australia declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for Facebook Australia said the application of its mandatory vaccination policy would depend on local conditions and regulations.

“We are currently following the guidance from the NSW and Victorian governments,” the spokeswoman said. “Currently Australia’s local state government advice is that ‘if it is possible employees should work from home’, so that is the guidance we are following in Australia.”

No general requirement

Employers in Australia are restricted in what they can mandate employees to do, with Fair Work Australia advising that “in the current circumstances, the overwhelming majority of employers should assume that they can’t require their employees to be vaccinated against coronavirus”.

Employment law expert Anthony Forsyth said it did not appear that companies could mandate that employees get the COVID jabs.

“Such a direction might be lawful in relation to certain types of workers in high-risk occupations or workplace settings, and/or to ensure the employer complies with applicable public health orders, but not as a general rule for all workers” like at Google, he said.

Local tech companies have instead focused on incentivising employees to get vaccinated, with Atlassian, Zip and Airtasker all signing the Great Aussie Vaccine Pledge which promises paid leave and extra flexibility for employees getting COVID-19 vaccinations.

A spokeswoman for Atlassian declined to comment on whether the company would mandate vaccination at any stage, but the company is providing employees with special leave to use for any COVID-19 related circumstances which could be looking after children, getting vaccinated or recovering from symptoms associated with the vaccine.

Venture capital investor Paul Bassat, founder of Square Peg Ventures, has called for Australian businesses to provide incentives for vaccinations across the population, not just to their employees.

“Here’s a random idea,” he posted on Twitter on Wednesday. “How about a bunch of Aussie tech companies put together a package of incentives for anyone who gets vaccinated eg first month free subscription or rebate on purchase?”

However Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes was not sold on the idea.

“I’ve thought about various schemes like this,” he replied on Twitter. “I’m not sure it creates the right incentives (educate people on vaccine importance), and also unsure it could be run by anyone but the government? (How would you prove vaccination status?).”

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Cara Waters is the technology and startups editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald based in Melbourne.

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