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172 articles are classified in All Articles > 2020 coronavirus pandemic > OHS


Sacked lawyer's vax status not a private matter: FWC

The FWC has tossed out an unfair dismissal claim from a government lawyer responsible for overseeing safe workplaces, finding he fully understood the seriousness of "wilfully and persistently" refusing to confirm his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Firefighter reinstated after refusal to provide vax proof

The FWC has reinstated a firefighter who refused to provide proof of his COVID-19 vaccination status while on leave, observing that his employer failed to properly read a response indicating he was inoculated before taking a "well-worn disciplinary path" towards dismissal.

FWC member slams "reckless" anti-vax representative

A senior FWC member has lambasted an "incompetent" and "belligerent" representative involved in numerous challenges to vaccination-related dismissals, bemoaning that a regulatory gap prevented him from awarding costs against the offending individual.

Court clamps anti-vax advocate's "threatening" emails

A Federal Court judge has moved swiftly to shut down a legal representative for 18 airline workers seeking damages for COVID-19 vaccination-related sackings after he sent "obscene [and] threatening" emails to the defendants' lawyers and in-house IR teams.


Worker still employed despite overshooting vax deadline: FWC

The FWC has declined to hear the unfair sacking case of a vaccinated worker who passed up "at least" eight chances to confirm her inoculation status before her employer dismissed then reinstated her within 48 hours.

COVID-19 isolation period cut from 7 days to 5

Isolation periods for COVID-19 are set to drop from seven days to five, while the pandemic leave disaster payment will be adjusted to reflect the change, after a National Cabinet meeting today.


Compensation for "pro-choice" worker awaiting Novavax

An employer must pay compensation to a "pro-choice" worker sacked for missing a COVID-19 vaccination deadline after the FWC found that, unlike a colleague, it failed to afford her a chance to take leave while awaiting the impending approval of the Novavax jab.

Pay members for taking RATs: Union

The ANMF will continue to pursue a nursing home it says should be paying members for the time it takes to perform a COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test before entering the facility, despite the FWC find it unclear "what possible basis" existed to make such a claim.