Seven in 10 casual workers in Australia have indicated that they would be more likely to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if it was recommended by their employer, according to research from Humanforce.

The intelligent workforce management solutions provider’s survey of 500 casual or part-time workers also revealed that the vast majority of casual workers – 71 per cent – think that employers should have the right to ask their workers to be vaccinated.

However, only 29.6 per cent of these casual staff worked for employers who had said being vaccinated for COVID-19 would be a requirement to secure shifts in the future.

“Given the scale of disruption the pandemic has caused for so many workplaces across Australia, there was a lot of talk even prior to the vaccine arriving in Australia and being rolled out, about whether workplaces would make it mandatory for staff to be vaccinated,” says Clayton Pyne, Founder and Managing Director of Humanforce.

“Many employer groups have publicly advocated for businesses to be able to direct staff towards being vaccinated to help avoid future outbreaks and workplace disruptions, and most casual workers are clearly supportive of this, which is a positive finding for safe work places and business continuity in 2021.”

Many casual workers (67 per cent) said they had been concerned about their health in the workplace throughout the COVID-19 period. These concerns were likely the reason 64 per cent of workers said they would get the vaccine when it was available to them, while 24 per cent were still undecided and 12 per cent said they did not intend to get the vaccine.

Interestingly, 79 per cent of casual workers indicated that they would prefer it if their colleagues were vaccinated, which was higher than the number who said they would get the COVID-19 vaccine themselves. A high number (67 per cent) of casual workers were also supportive of their employers requiring customers and visitors to the workplace to show they had been vaccinated.

“It’s very apparent that casual workers are concerned about COVID-19 and their health at work, and that they expect their employers to step in and take charge of protecting them and others while in the workplace,” adds Clayton.

“That’s why employers must now ensure they are prioritising the fine tuning of their organisation’s position on COVID-19 vaccines. Engaging casual workers early on is vital in clearly communicating with them your organisation’s position, as well as expectations of them and others when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s also important to have the right systems in place to effectively communicate with staff and track staff vaccination information, should it be required by your organisation.”