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Steps we are taking during COVID-19
Steps we are taking during COVID-19
We are taking several measures to ensure the health and safety of our Sidekicks and support our clients in creating COVID safe workplaces
Updated over a week ago

In response to COVID-19, we are taking several measures to ensure the health and safety of our Sidekicks and support our clients in creating COVID safe workplaces.

Our team is ensuring our policies and processes are in line with all state government requirements, and we are building on our technology daily to make adopting these requirements as seamless as possible for businesses and workers alike.

How we are helping our clients create safe workplaces

Recent Workplaces

When businesses are selecting Sidekicks to hire, we provide full transparency on where applicants have worked with Sidekicker during the past 14 days.

Smart Screening Questions

For Opportunities, ‘Smart’ application questions auto-reject applicants should they not meet any custom COVID related requirements businesses may have.

COVID Safe Plans

We are collecting COVID Safe Plans from all businesses hiring with Sidekicker. COVID Safe Plans are manually verified by our compliance team, then uploaded to business's accounts and displayed on job descriptions for Sidekicks to view when applying for jobs.

In states where it is a requirement, all businesses with workers on-site must have a verified COVID Safe Plan on their account to request staff on our platform and hire Sidekicks.

Remote jobs and non-approved on-site industries

When posting a request, businesses specify the location of the job, and whether it can be performed remotely or on site. All requests are reviewed immediately by our compliance team. Any requests made for on-site workers in industries not approved for on site work do not go live on our platform.

Restricting work across multiple businesses / sites

Past restrictions in some States have prohibited staff to work across multiple businesses / sites, and some businesses have also requested this of their workforce. To manage this, our Private Sidekick feature can be utilised to lock Sidekicks to a single employer and work site. Once a Sidekick becomes a ‘Private Sidekick’ for a business, they are only able to view and apply for shifts with that business.

How we are helping our Sidekicks stay safe

Pre-Shift Processes

Sidekicks must confirm when applying for a job, and again before their shift starts via our SMS check-in systems, that:

  • They are not sick or showing COVID-19 symptoms

  • They have not been in contact with anyone with or suspected of having COVID-19 within the past 14 days

  • They have the appropriate PPE and will abide by all rules on site

Exposure to COVID-19

If a Sidekick is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or has been exposed to COVID-19, they can withdraw from any upcoming shifts using the following reasons:

  • Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

  • Close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case

  • Tested positive for COVID-19

When a Sidekick withdraws from a shift using one of these reasons, our Support team will:

Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms:

  1. Withdraw the Sidekick from all shifts occurring within the next 48 hours

  2. Immediately notify the appropriate business contact of the withdrawal and withdrawal reason

  3. Recommend the Sidekick gets a COVID-19 test and isolates until they receive a negative test result, or until directed by health authorities

  4. Direct the Sidekick to our COVID-19 policy and official Government sources with up-to-date information on local testing and isolation requirements

  5. Inform the Sidekick of their responsibility to inform us immediately if they are required to self-isolate or if they test positive for COVID-19

  6. Provide guidance that customers may request proof of a negative test result before a Sidekick returns to work

Close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case:

  1. Withdraw the Sidekick from all shifts occurring within the next 7 days (or 10 days in SA) and place their account on hold

  2. Immediately notify the appropriate business contact of the withdrawal and withdrawal reason

  3. Direct the Sidekick to our COVID-19 policy and official Government sources with up-to-date information on local testing and isolation requirements

  4. Remind the Sidekick to inform us immediately if they test positive for COVID-19

  5. Provide guidance that customers may request proof of a negative test result before a Sidekick returns to work

Positive COVID-19 cases:

  1. Withdraw the Sidekick from all shifts occurring within the next 7 days (or 10 days in SA) and place their account on hold

  2. Immediately notify the appropriate business contact of the withdrawal and withdrawal reason, as well as any clients the Sidekick worked with during their infectious period

  3. Lodge an incident report to be escalated with Sidekicker's Return to Work Coordinator, who will remain in contact with the Sidekick to provide ongoing support and assist them in returning to the workplace once they have been cleared to do so

COVID-19 Vaccinations

With Government regulations surrounding COVID-19 vaccination requirements continuing to evolve, we have made it possible for Sidekicks to upload proof of a COVID-19 vaccine (Dose 1/Dose 2/Booster) to their profile.

Through doing this, we are able to support our Sidekicker community and businesses seeking vaccinated staff, and comply with Government regulations as they continue to change over time.

In industries or locations where a Government has mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for workers, we will:

  • Proactively encourage vaccinated Sidekicks to upload proof of a COVID-19 vaccine, either in the form of an immunisation history statement, COVID-19 digital certificate, or genuine proof of a medical exemption (if required)

  • Disable access to shifts for unvaccinated workers where a COVID-19 vaccine is required

Covid Safe Training Courses

We prompt all Sidekicks to complete a COVID Safe training course before applying to shifts. Once completed, we capture it as a certificate on a Sidekick's profile, which is visible to businesses when hiring.

In states where it is a requirement, we block Sidekicks from viewing and applying for shifts until they have completed the course.

Regular Safety Surveys

In-app notifications are used to regularly survey Sidekicks to proactively ensure they are receiving appropriate personal protective equipment, training and supervision on-site to ensure businesses are consistently complying with directives.

Employee COVID Safe Requirements

To ensure Sidekicks know all COVID safe requirements and their employee obligations, we link to a COVID safe fact sheet in every job description.

Business’s Covid Safe Plans are also displayed on job descriptions, which Sidekicks are required to read and understand before applying to work.

Worker Permits

Worker Permits have previously been introduced in States like NSW and VIC. Where Worker Permits are required by State Government regulations, where the employer is required to provide the Worker Permit, Sidekicker will distribute and validate Worker Permits to all Sidekicks working on site.

We also have a dedicated Support team available to answer calls from authorities to verify when Sidekicks are travelling for work.

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