Dear Employees
Further to our update yesterday, the Bureau of Meteorology is now predicting Cyclone Alfred to make landfall late Friday or Saturday morning according to latest reports.
Damaging and destructive wind gusts, storms, and heavy rainfall are expected to develop later today, impacting parts of south-east Queensland and northern NSW.
Whiddon’s non-essential services continue to be cancelled until Sunday. At this stage and depending on the weather, we may need to cancel essential services from tomorrow or Saturday – we will keep you updated, and our team will contact you directly if this occurs.
For now, the SES has advised everyone to stay at home, and to follow the directions of emergency services. You can stay up-to-date by listening to ABC News Radio, or via the SES website (https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/ for NSW or https://www.ses.qld.gov.au/ for QLD).
For those who are continuing to deliver essential services, remember to put your safety first:
- Do not travel to your shift if it is unsafe (e.g., flooded roads, extreme weather) or if you have other responsibilities (e.g., caring for children due to school closures, or protecting).
- Keep your mobile phone charged and on-hand for updates.
- Monitor the SES Website and ABC News Radio for weather updates.
- Secure your home in preparation for the cyclone.
It is also important that you take steps to secure your own home, family, and pets – here is a link to our Flood Preparation Checklist which you can view here.
Disaster Leave
Whiddon will support employees to take up to 3 days of paid leave in the event they are impacted by a Natural disaster. Our goal is to support our team members during these challenging times and ensure their safety and well-being.
We are communicating the process for this leave with Managers today, so please reach out to your Manager directly if you need to apply for this leave.
If you need urgent support, you can call the SES on 132 500 or in an emergency call 000.
Please take care and stay safe
The Whiddon Team