Telstra: when are you covered for workers compensation?
Every few years the CWU gets a report that Telstra’s compensation officers have refused a claim by a field-based member injured while travelling to or from work under the log-on arrangements (Section 12 of the current Enterprise Agreement).
Staff turnover is obviously eroding Telstra’s corporate memory.
This question has been dealt with by the union on a number of occasions, most recently in 2014.
And in fact the answer was put beyond doubt by Comcare a decade ago.
Correspondence from Comcare to the CWU at that time confirmed that employees who are required to use a work vehicle and are using it for work-related purposes, including travelling to and from work, are deemed to be “at work” for the purposes of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Workers’ Compensation Act 1988.
Any member having difficulty with Telstra on this point should contact the CWU immediately.
