New Zealand urges businesses to let employees work from home

The move by the government will affect tens of thousands of workers under “phase two” of its response to Omicron.

Under the red light setting, most businesses are not required to send employees home, but working from home is optional. Close-contact businesses such as hairdressers can operate within public health requirements.

Most big New Zealand employers and large government departments are requiring extra health and safety measures for people in workplaces, such as requiring people to be vaccinated and wear masks, contact tracing, extra cleaning, rapid antigen testing and physical distancing.

Many of these companies and departments have implemented policies which allow staff who do not need to be onsite to work from home. Others need to have their offices open to provide essential services to customers onsite with safety measures and regular testing in place. Nevertheless, many of these are actively encouraging their customers or clients to access their services online as much as possible. 

READ: New Zealand rolls out plans to ease IT skills shortage

These companies include Spark, ASB, Westpac, Kiwibank, BNZ, Inland Revenue, Xero, Meridian Energy, Contact Energy, Fletcher Building, Ministry of Social Development and the Corrections Department, according to Stuff.