Rydges Hotel in central Auckland, pictured in early August. Photo / Alex Burton
Rydges Hotel in central Auckland, pictured in early August. Photo / Alex Burton
There could be multiple layers of liability when an worker contracts Covid-19 at a managed isolation facility, an employment expert says.
Questions have been raised after it emerged a maintenance worker from a managed isolation facility at the Rydges Hotel in Auckland mysteriously contracted Covid-19.
Dundas Street Employment lawyers partner Blair Scotland said while the law was not designed to "guarantee people's safety" it was about taking all reasonably practicable steps to lower risk.
And if liability could be established in the recent case, there could be multiple parties involved, Scotland said.
There are legal obligations for anyone who controls a business or undertaking under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, he said.
But, he added: "The law doesn't necessary provide exact specifics of how you are supposed to do that."
A key principle was that a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is "reasonably practicable", that the workplace is without risk to the health and safety of any person, he said.
In respect of the Covid-19 pandemic, that meant employers had to figure out what the reasonably practicable steps would be in their case, he said.
Employers need to keep up with what the Ministry of Health and other Government agencies were saying businesses like theirs should do to keep workers safe, he said.
"As long as you are following the guidance that is applicable and appropriate to your working environment then you are likely meeting your requirements."
While there had not been information specifically on people using shared elevators, there was discussion about isolation and ways of contact, he said.
FACEMASK
"There could be arguably a case for some liability," he said.
If it could be proven that the employer did not take the reasonably practicable steps and the maintenance worker had fallen sick, that would indicate a good prospect that there had been a failure, he said.
"Because presumably you could just say, well if we have people using the lifts who are likely to have Covid-19 then the reasonably practicable step is that staff do not use that lift at all or can only use it after it has been thoroughly cleaned."
It would be different if a guest had ran amok, jumping a fence, he said, or an employee had broken protocol in some way.
"The legislation doesn't require that employers guarantee the safety of all employees all the time."
That would simply be an impossible thing to do, he said.
"It would be like saying the Commissioner of Police has to ensure that all police personnel are safe all the time."
He said such an example would be if a gunman was on the loose, the police would need to lock themselves away in the police station to stay safe.
It was all about ensuring the reasonably practicable steps were taken, he said.
One of the issues with how these facilities are managed is that it is not clear who was in charge, he said.
"And if it's not clear who is in charge, then who is responsible?"
The New Zealand Defence Force, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment as wells as individual hotels all had a role in the sites, he said.
"We are concerned for our member because we can't advise them properly."
On the back of the case at the Rydges, it seemed transmission had occurred in a casual lift setting, which had only heightened their concern, he said
What are the procedures around lifts, PPE and cleaning?
Managed Isolation and Quarantine spokeswoman said all managed isolation and quarantine facilities adhere to Ministry of Health guidelines around health and wellbeing requirements.
Regular and thorough cleaning is a fundamental requirement of each facility and its staff.
Facility cleaning staff are responsible for the regular cleaning of surfaces and frequently touched items and well-handled common areas including lifts, hallways and stairwells, she said.
"Cleaning is done with hospital-grade detergents/disinfectant in order to reduce as much as possible the risk of potential transmission," the spokesperson said.
Each facility has a plan to ensure people can move around a hotel in a way that minimises and/or eliminates the potential infection risk to others, she said.
Rydges Hotel lifts are regularly cleaned, including after a new group of returnees has arrived and checked into their rooms, and after any transfers to quarantine or hospital, she said.
There is hand sanitiser in all lifts. Returnees are not able to share lifts with people from other "bubbles" or staff.
Each facility also has an infection prevention control training programme in place for staff.
This includes information on PPE use such as masks and gloves, basic hygiene practices, infection prevention and control protocols, hotel and facility procedures, and daily health checks.
Health officials brief returnees while in transit from the airport on health requirements, and hotel operations.
Returnees are briefed again when they check in.
They are asked to physically distance from one another, the spokeswoman said.
"All returnees must wear masks whenever they're outside their rooms to prevent potential transmission of Covid-19.
"They must also wear PPE if asked by staff to do so at any point while they are staying in managed isolation or quarantine."
As of August 12, all staff in all managed isolation facilities were instructed to wear masks at all times when conducting their duties, the spokeswoman said.
