It’s been 703 days between drinks in Australia for international visitors, and business owners know all too well the damage lockouts and lockdowns have inflicted on them.
Since March 2020 when the walls first went up, Employsure, Australia’s largest workplace relations advisor, has taken more than 750,000 calls from business owners from every state and territory, seeking help on issues like JobKeeper, employee entitlements, vaccination mandates, and health and safety both in the workplace and at home. For comparison, this is about a 25% increase in call volume compared to the previous two years.
Now that Australia is finally reopen to fully vaccinated tourists and other visa holders, business owners who have been decimated by the events of the past two years will finally get to feel the light at the end of the tunnel shine brightly on them.
“What we’ve heard from our clients throughout the pandemic is that relying on financial packages and local citizens to prop up a business can only get them so far. What has been needed for a long time, and now is finally here, is international tourism to help pour billions annually back into the Australian economy,” said Employsure Business Partner Emma Dawson.
“Small business employers in the tourism and hospitality sectors are the big winners from this after dealing with the stress of operating compliantly through Covid, while also trying to protect themselves, their staff, their customers, and their bottom line.
“Business owners will be cautious at first as tourists start coming in, as they will still be nervous about keeping their workplace Covid-safe to avoid potentially shutting down for several days due to staff being off sick. However, what will initially start out as trickle of tourists hesitant to come into Australia for fear of another closure, will soon turn into a wave of people from all over the world keen to explore the ‘lucky country’ come summertime.
“Employers should be aware of this and plan accordingly throughout the year. Effectively managing what staff they need and when, particularly casual staff with their extra loading, could help a business owner better manage their cashflow throughout the year until a clear time where extra staff is necessary.
“Correctly overseeing staff not only means a stronger net profit for the business, but it helps paves the way for an influx of additional employees, some of whom will be international workers ready to take up employment wherever they can.
“This is a positive step forward after two years of stress and heartbreak, one which has been a long time coming,” she concluded.
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