CEB Staff Newsletter #5 - 11 February 2022
Staff Announcement
Kanishka Hitihamillage
We are delighted to welcome Kanishka Hitihamillage to the position of Web Developer into the SIMON Team. Kanishka will commence next week and comes to us from Visual Soft Ltd where he has been a Freelance Software Developer since 2016.
Latest COVID Updates For CEB
Vaccination Requirements for Education Workers
Under new pandemic orders that came into effect on 12 January 2022, workers in key sectors, including Education, who are already required to be fully vaccinated with two doses must get their third dose to continue to be permitted to work on site.
The Vaccination requirements and FAQ documents provide an outline of this requirement.
We encourage staff to read these overview documents and discuss with their Team Leader with any questions they may have.
Rapid Antigen Test Kits (RATs) Supply
We have now received a nominal allocation of Rapid Antigen Test Kits for CEB Office staff enabling the recommended voluntary, twice-weekly testing at home prior to attending work onsite.
Rapid antigen tests are most reliable when used by someone who has symptoms of COVID-19.
Click here for a guide to when and how to use these tests.
For those wishing to procure two kits of five RAT tests, please visit or contact;
Simon O’Brien (Risk Assurance Officer)
sobrien@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
mobile: 0421 000 325
The circulation has commenced for our regional offices for access next week.
From the Manager: Planning & Infrastructure
Planned interruption to the heating and cooling systems at Gillies St Office
After a few delays, the scheduled replacement of some of the existing heating and cooling units at the Gillies St office is due to take place on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th February.
These works will involve the following:
- disconnection of heating and cooling units late in the afternoon on Friday 11th February
- removal of existing units and replacement works commencing at 6am Monday morning
- carpark to be used for crane and trucks on Monday 14th February
- heating and cooling will be offline for approximately 2 days
Due to the nature of these works and the forecast of warm weather it is required that ALL staff be off site on both Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th February.
Gillies Street Office – Reminder to remember your FOB
All staff are reminded to please remember their FOB so that they can enter the Gillies Street Office and be able to access all areas within the building. We wish to ensure that the office areas remain as secure as possible. Staff are also requested not to hold open any of the internal secure doors.
To help keep FOBs handy, several options are available from retailers such as OfficeWorks. These include;
Gillies Street - Security System Overview
Please find to follow a brief overview of the security system at Gillies Street Office:
- Access to the Gillies St building is by swiping your FOB once over the reader, noting that there is one located at each of the entry doors. When you swipe you should hear it beep and then you have approx. 5 seconds to pass through the door.
- The Gillies Street building is armed from approximately 9pm on weeknights and over the weekend and this can be identified by the red light on the card reader.
If you require access to the building during these hours swiping the card reader once will disarm the alarm and change the light on the card reader from red to green and allow you to enter the building.
When leaving the building during these hours it is requested that you arm the building again by swiping the card reader 3 times allowing a 1 second gap between each swipe and the light on the card reader will change from green to red identifying that the alarm has been activated.
- For any staff who may on the odd occasion be working after 9pm when the building will auto alarm we would suggest that you contact Sectrol Security via the phone number 5329 0800 to advise them that you are still on the premises and what time you expect to be leaving.
Lyons Street - Request for any outstanding keys to be returned
If any staff still have any keys relevant to 5 Lyons Street, could they please be returned to the Administration Team within the next week so that these can then be returned to the Diocese.
Blended Work Agreements
Blended working agreements enable employees to work from an alternate work location, usually a Home Office, other than their workplace in a CEB office or Catholic School in the Ballarat Diocese.
Late last year existing Blended Work Agreements (BWAs) were extended allowing staff with these arrangements to continue for a further period. These BWAs are due to expire at the end of Term 1 2022.
New and existing staff are invited to apply for Blended Work arrangements up to the end of the current school year (i.e. 27 January 2023).
Should you wish to apply for a BWA for this period, you should;
- Review the Blended Work Policy and Blended Work Agreements Procedure on SIMON/Knowledge Banks/09. CEB Staff.
- Make time with your team leader to discuss your application to ensure that the proposed BWA is reflective of operational and service needs.
- If the proposed BWA is endorsed by your team leader, complete the Blended Work Agreement form and forward it to Grant Victor-Gordon, Occupational Health and Safety Coordinator, gvictor-gordon@dobcel.catholic.edu.au for an ergonomic review of your workspace.
Those employees continuing on a BWA are reminded that the continuation of the BWA is conditional on having established a safe alternative work environment (home office).
Specifically, in addition to the requirements outlined in the Health and Safety Checklist on the blended work agreement, from 11 April 2022 every home office space must also include:
- an appropriate dedicated work desk at least 1500mm (L) X 800mm (W) X 730mm (H)
- at least one computer monitor (i.e. separate to the laptop monitor)
- separate computer accessories (i.e. keyboard and mouse)
These items have been identified as essential for employees working in a blended way to ensure that we minimise home-based risks to health and safety as far as practicable.
It is also important to note, as communicated last year, that any DOBCEL/CEB owned equipment that was used at home to facilitate remote working is returned to the office.
If you have any queries, please contact;
Maree Baker
Manager: Human Resources
0436 460275
mbaker@dobcel.catholic.edu.au