Breaching an employer's mandatory COVID-19 face mask rule is a valid reason for dismissal, but employers must clearly warn staff of the consequences of failing to wear the PPE properly, a commission has ruled.
A major logistics employer should have been more transparent with a group of shift managers who expressed safety concerns when they were asked to step into stevedoring roles during an industrial dispute, a full bench of the Fair Work Commission has found in upholding the reinstatement of all six managers.
The requirement for certain workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 can be likened to a new regulatory requirement or mandatary training qualification for a particular role, a commission has ruled in one of a rapidly growing number of decisions on the issue.
A worker was advised by her doctor that it was potentially unsafe for her to receive an influenza vaccination, but her aged care employer acted fairly and reasonably in dismissing her for not getting the jab, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A major government employer, in defending its decision to summarily sack a claims coordinator, has failed to prove the man's "aggressive" conduct caused a "serious and imminent risk" to the health or safety of his colleagues.
A global aviation services company was entitled to sack a NSW worker who "quite extraordinarily" refused to provide proof of her COVID-19 vaccination despite having received both jabs, a tribunal has found.
A major employer has failed to overturn a ruling that a worker, who was previously awarded $200,000 after being featured on a s-xually suggestive WHS poster, is entitled to pursue further damages under unfair dismissal laws.
A risk and compliance manager's role included safety inspections and many other tasks that needed to be performed at her employer's premises, a commission has heard in rejecting her claim that she should have been permitted to work from home instead of being "forced" to have a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Fair Work Commission has found an employer moved too quickly to dismiss a worker who refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19, and should have waited until all employees in his category were required to return to the office.
Medical certificates provided by a "malleable" doctor who was a friend of a worker have proved crucial in undermining the credibility of the worker's unfair dismissal case.