Australia’s largest provider of staffing operations and maintenance services, Programmed, announced today that it will pay its casual employees working in Australia, who are required to self-isolate.
Programmed ranks in the top ten private employers with around 30,000 staff who work across customer sites across Australia and New Zealand in education, health, infrastructure, manufacturing, transport and mining sectors. Programmed employs a mix of permanent, fixed-term and casual employees with over 20,000 being casual workers.
This paid ’Isolation Support leave’ will cover the employee’s usual wages for isolation for up to two weeks.
Managing Director and Group CEO, Glenn Thompson, said, “During a challenging time like this, I believe businesses have a critical role to play in supporting both employees and the broader community from both a health and a financial perspective.”
“We at Programmed are guided by simply ’doing the right thing’. We are leaders in our approach to safety and have a guiding value of ‘care and empathy’ that has driven our decision to assist casual workers as much as we can, regardless of the fact that it is not a legal requirement.
“There are financial pressures on most businesses across the economy right now so making decisions that balance the financial requirements of shareholders and needs of employees and communities is something business leaders will increasingly face going forward.”
“I believe this is a time for businesses to step up and make decisions that may adversely affect the bottom line but provide a much-needed safety net to people in need,” said Mr Thompson.
We have established an online COVID-19 Information Centre for all employees. This website provides you with up-to-date information from Australian and New Zealand governments and the World Health Organisation, provides advice on health and hygiene good practice, symptoms identifiers, as well as direct access to our Employee Assistance Program, our Employee Benefits Program and links to relevant people support policies.
More Information on paid Isolation Support leave, how to apply, plus guidance on how to protect yourself and others is available at programmed.com.au/employeesupport
