“The biggest challenge at the moment with the provision of rapid antigen tests to employees is their availability,” he said.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and any government announcements, but anticipate this may be something that we do for employees working in key operational roles in the future.”
Riku Kaliramana runs Flagstaff News & Lotto on William Street in Melbourne’s CBD and said a further delay in workers going back to their offices will almost certainly push businesses such as his over the edge.
Riku Kaliramana runs Flagstaff News & Lotto in Melbourne’s CBD and says that if office workers don’t return soon, businesses such as his may need to shut their doors.Credit:Photo: Scott McNaughton
Having just managed to ride out the successive COVID lockdowns, Mr Kaliramana said many small and micro-businesses in the CBD are banking on a better 2022.
“We were hoping this thing would last two years, so after this lockdown, maybe after school holidays we would come back, but everything is still the same.”
“The revenue we used to generate in one week or one hour, we can’t even generate that in a whole day at the moment.”
“We used to trade 13 hours now we trade only 9 hours, and we used to have two workers but right now I’m working by myself,” Mr Kaliramana said.
“We need people in the city, that’s all I can say, if there’s no people in the city, then I don’t think the city is going to be back like how it used to be,” he said.
For Paul Signorelli, managing director of the Doltone House Group of more than 30 events venues, Omicron has already thrown the business’ schedule in Sydney into disarray.
Paul Signorelli of the Doltone House Group has been working from home since contracting COVID-19 at Christmas.Credit:Dean Sewell
He was forced to cancel a New Year’s Eve event at Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont after 70 per cent of the 350 guests cancelled their tickets. Three grooms with COVID-19 postponed their weddings which were scheduled for January. And the long-awaited January reopening of Biaggio Cafe, closed since March, has also been put on hold.
Most of Biaggio’s regular patrons from the nearby Google building in Pyrmont are still working from home. “That cafe is a victim of COVID. It just hasn’t had a chance to reopen,” said Mr Signorelli.
“For the next quarter there have been a few nervous clients especially in the corporate sector and in the social sector which is the weddings and private events. This Omicron has spooked a lot of people the way it is travelling through the community.”
Since getting a positive COVID-19 test result on Christmas Day, Mr Signorelli has been working from his home and many of his staff are also isolating.
“We have seen a bit of a hand brake pulled up [on staff returning to the workplace], all services will be affected in January and February as we come out of New Year’s Eve,” he said.
Paul Nicolaou, executive director of Business Sydney, said many Sydney businesses were “re-evaluating their timelines for bringing staff back to their workplaces” based on high case numbers and the latest government advice.
And it’s a sentiment shared by almost all the major CBD employers. Major accounting and consultancy group KPMG has indicated that its return to work plan may be in trouble given the outbreaks in NSW and Victoria.
“Our people are currently enjoying their annual holiday shutdown, with our offices due to re-open from 10 January,” Dorothy Hisgrove, national managing partner – people & inclusion, KPMG said.
“Our “Work from Anywhere” policy means that people can choose where they wish to work. However, in geographies such as NSW and Victoria where the current health advice is to work from home if you can, we will be encouraging our people to respect this,” Ms Hisgrove added.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the supply of RATs and rising case numbers, Tim Finlayson, the chief operating officer of big four law firm King & Wood Mallesons, said the firm would continue to encourage a hybrid way of working.
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“At this point in time, it still remains a personal choice for our people when they work in the office unless the role cannot be performed remotely.
Another of the big four law firms, Herbert Smith Freehills, was also aiming to reopen its offices on January 10, but a spokeswoman said that decision could be reviewed. “We are closely monitoring the latest developments in the pandemic and will review our plans closer to our re-opening date.”
Medibank is also taking a wait-and-see approach. The company welcomed staff back to its Docklands office in December for three weeks before its traditional office shutdown period. The majority of staff were supposed to be back on January 10.
“At this stage we expect the office to once again be available to our [fully vaccinated] employees from January 10, we are closely monitoring the evolving situation and any changes in government advice,” a spokeswoman for the company said.
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