11 April 2020

Qantas has defended its decision not to allow cabin crew who developed COVID-19 after being stood down access to their accrued sick leave entitlements, arguing there is "no job for them to be sick from" and that many of them became infected while on holidays.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is calling for an immediate reversal of the decision, as a number of cases connected to the airline continues to grow.

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...Qantas...confirmed that those who had been stood down were not able to access their accrued sick leave, because "there is no job for them to be sick from".

Instead, the stood-down workers should seek to access Job Seeker or Job Keeper payments while sick, the spokesman said.

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The airline is also claiming that few of its workers have actually contracted the virus while on the job, instead saying some contracted it while on layover in international countries between jobs on flights.

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"In most of these cases, the employees have contracted the Coronavirus while overseas including staff who were on holidays.

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"Qantas has fully complied with the requirements of Australia's Chief Medical Officer in relation to the quarantine exemptions for air crew," the spokesman said.

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Crew working on these flights will be required to self-isolate for 14 days on their return.

"They can elect to self-isolate at home or in a hotel. If a hotel, Qantas will pay and provide meals," the spokesman said.

Those that contract COVID-19 while on the job or come into contact with a confirmed case will also receive 14 days of self-isolation payments, they added.