ARTICLE · 17 SEPTEMBER 2021

Employer held responsible for employee contracting COVID-19

Clifford Gouldson Lawyers

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If an employee contracts COVID-19 throughout the course of their employment, an employer may be held responsible.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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The recent decision of Sara v G & S Sara Pty Ltd [2021] NSWPIC 286 (the Sara Decision) confirms that if an employee contracts COVID-19 throughout the course of their employment, an employer may be held responsible.

In the Sara Decision, Mr Sara was required to travel to New York from Sydney in early 2020. On 23 July 2020, he was admitted to a New York Hospital and later died on 21 November 2020 due to acute respiratory complications from COVID-19.

The Commission was required to consider who Mr Sara was employed by at the time he contracted COVID-19 due to a complex interrelationship between:

Stoneglass Dental Laboratory Pty Ltd (Stoneglass Australia), being Mr Sara's Australian employer; and

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