Australian bosses have been told staff are only entitled to paid leave if they have been diagnosed with coronavirus.

According to a note sent by Business NSW employers do not need to provide personal or carers leave to workers forced into quarantine as a precaution.

The legal advice came from Australian Business Lawyers and Advisors and was sent out to thousands companies across Australia on Tuesday, The Australian reported.

'To qualify for personal leave, an employee must be ''not fit for work'' because of an illness or injury affecting them,' the advice said.

'It is unlikely that this pre­requis­ite will be met by persons who are not yet diagnosed as ill but merely require isolation.'

People wait in line out the front of the Royal Melbourne Hospital to be tested for coronavirus on Tuesday

Most people were seen wearing face masks. One man could be seen walking around in full protective gear offering hand sanitser and face masks to people

Business NSW advised companies to allow an undiagnosed, isolated employee to work from home and if that is not an option, employers should consider paid leave.

'As an employer, it is worthwhile considering whether (these) discretionary options…can be accommodated.

'Employers will need to balance the short-term cost associated with these measures against the longer-term benefits that arise both for the employment relationship and the national interest.'

As casual workers are not entitled to sick leave, they will not be entitled to payment during this period.

The advice flies in the face Prime Minister Scott Morrison's pleas on Tuesday for companies to take care of their workers.

He urged businesses to 'hold on to your people, you will need them on the other side'.

As fears of a coronavirus pandemic grow, businesses have been enacting emergency plans.

Qantas and Flight Centre have asked staff to take unpaid leave to deal with the slump caused by the disease.

Singapore Airlines has also sought the power to stand down quarantined workers without pay after a number of routes were cancelled as a result of the outbreak.



The advice from Business NSW comes as the number of Australian cases continues to rise with 116 confirmed cases on Wednesday morning.

Symptoms of the virus include a fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath

A massive queue formed outside the Royal Melbourne Hospital as people wearing face masks wait to get their symptoms tested

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE CORONAVIRUS? Once someone has caught the virus it may take between two and 14 days for them to show any symptoms. If and when they do, typical signs include: a runny nose

a cough

sore throat

fever (high temperature) The vast majority of patients – at least 97 per cent, based on available data – will recover from these without any issues or medical help. In a small group of patients, who seem mainly to be the elderly or those with long-term illnesses, it can lead to pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection in which the insides of the lungs swell up and fill with fluid. It makes it increasingly difficult to breathe and, if left untreated, can be fatal and suffocate people. Advertisement

That number is expected to rise further as hospitals have been hit with long queues of people waiting to be tested for the deadly virus.

On Tuesday hundreds of people lined streets waiting to be screened for coronavirus as testing centres around Australia.

Officials have confirmed more than 9,000 people have been tested in New South Wales alone, the country's worst affected state.

The federal government released its health package on Tuesday night, on top of its $10billion stimulus, promising further measures were on the way.

The package will establish 100 pop-up clinics across Australia to divert people who may be infected away from hospitals.

From Friday, Australians will be able to completely bulk-bill phone hook-ups with GPs to diagnose coronavirus symptoms.

It comes as Health Minister Greg Hunt says more than half Australia's cases had recovered and it was unlikely people could be infected twice.

'I think that's a very important message to Australians,' Mr Hunt said.

'So now is the moment of pressure ... this is a once-in-50-year challenge that we face.

One doctor's unique method: Dr Mukesh Haikerwal - a GP from Altona North in Melbourne's south-west and former president of the Australian Medical Association - has resorted to swabbing patients from their cars outside his clinic

Mr Hunt said it won't be necessary to introduce a country-wide travel ban like Italy has, although Qantas has slashed flights by nearly one quarter and more temporary school closures are likely.

There are an estimated 114,000 cases in 107 countries across the world, with more than 4,000 recorded deaths.

Some patients said they are so frustrated with the testing process that they have given up and thrown themselves in self-quarantine.