Hi Rachael

You are right to be cautious to hand over this level of personal detail. Unless it fits within privacy principle 11 (which allows you to share the information with another business if you believe that is directly related to the purposes that you collected the information) or you have the consent from your workers, you could be breaching the Privacy Act by sharing this information. Your best bet is to get consent from your workers first.

You could let clients know that there are privacy issues with providing this information but you are happy to give information necessary to show workers are properly qualified/trained etc.

Gina

Thanks for sharing your company's experience with working from home. In our view the last sentence isn’t controversial. In fact, it raises a very valid point. Employers have an obligation to ensure their workers’ health and safety wherever their employees are working - this includes from home.

This should be done by completing a virtual hazard and risk assessment of the home work environment. Matters that should be assessed include work space set up, ergonomics, and fire safety and it is wise to include smoke alarms in this list! We created a comprehensive hazard and risk assessment sheet for our staff to complete at the start of lockdown earlier this year.

Matters such as expenses and processes for things like heating, internet and stationery items should be addressed upfront in a working from home policy, as this will help manage employees expectations upfront.

If you are contemplating shifting to a working from home or flexible working model it is also worth considering how you will continue to foster a healthy work culture, including encouraging regular communication and fostering team morale.