With greater economic confidence starting to be shown in some sectors and with many employers starting to re-engage with the idea of interstate travel, face-to-face interactions and a return to work on-site, there are the 'green shoots' of a COVID recovery.

The return back to a version of 'new normal' will present a range of employment law and HR issues that employers will need to consider, including:

• What aspects of the workplace flexibility that was experienced over the last 15 months can and should be retained, and what are the appropriate policies and contractual terms to achieve that result?
• What risk mitigation steps should sensibly be in place to ensure with greater face to face and travelling activity employers are managing their risk of COVID infection?
• What recent developments have emerged in relation to the approach for employers around requiring or encouraging their employees to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine?
• What considerations arise in relation to flexibility in hours of work for permanent and casual employees, including the impact of the new casual conversion laws, as pockets of the economy start to reactivate but may be doing so with some uncertainty?

Two of our leading Workplace Relations specialists, Michael Mead, Legal Practitioner Director with Ai Group Workplace Lawyers, and Kate Hossain, Workplace Relations Adviser at Ai Group, addressed these issues in this webinar.

This webinar is provided with the support of the Commonwealth Government represented by the Fair Work Ombudsman.