Mirvac staff told to work at home

Property developer Mirvac has joined the growing ranks of large companies telling staff to work from home.

Property developer Mirvac has joined the growing ranks of large companies telling staff to work from home to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Mirvac has put the measures in place from Monday to mitigate against the spread of infections from COVID-19 among its staff and the broader community.

Staff have been asked to work remotely wherever possible and the company has halted international air travel, with only critical interstate travel permitted.

“The decision to instruct our employees to work remotely where possible was not taken lightly, but has been taken from an abundance of caution following the federal government’s announcement,” Mirvac chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said on Sunday.

The move by the Council of Australian Governments last Friday to cancel any organised gathering over 500 people also influenced the company.

“We believe it is vitally important that we take swift action to reduce the number of people in close contact with others, for sustained periods of time, in order to slow the rate of COVID-19 infection,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said.

She added that Mirvac was well prepared and had invested in technology and greater flexibility for its workforce over some years to prepare for remote working.

“We have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Mirvac offices and our sites remain safe places to work and visit,” she said. “However, time is of the essence in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. We believe limiting the number of people in any given location both protects our people and best serves the broader community,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said.

Mirvac is also urging other businesses to take similar steps in order to help slow the rate of infections across Australia.

The company’s construction sites, shopping centres, warehouses, office towers ands sales offices will remain open, unless they are deemed unsafe.