This startling case is headed for the FWC
A Brisbane dismissal case is challenging the legality of terminating an employee for refusing to be vaccinated.
A former Ozcare nurse who had a decade’s tenure with the aged-care provider was sacked for refusing to receive a flu vaccination as part of the company’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Australian. Maria Glover, 64, has taken the company to the Fair Work Commission over the issue.
Glover said she had an anaphylactic reaction to a flu shot as a child and has not been vaccinated since. Ozcare accepted her refusal in previous years, but its policies became more stringent last year when authorities worried that a combination of the flu and COVID-19 could be deadly to elderly patients.
The case is being closely watched by governments, unions and industry groups for its potential fallout in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, The Australian reported.
While Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said the COVID-19 vaccine could be mandatory for aged care and other high-risk industries, most governments have shied away from mandating vaccinations themselves, instead allowing employers to implement their own policies.
During the FWC hearing Monday, barrister Leigh Howard, representing Ozcare, said the company’s mandatory vaccination policy had contributed to a steady decline in flu-related deaths in aged care in recent years. He also said that mandatory vaccinations were partly responsible for the sharp drop from 837 flu-related deaths in the first half of 2019 to only 28 in the first half of 2020.
Howard said that about 2,000 of Ozcare’s 13,000 clients who received at-home care had refused to allow carers into their homes out of fear of contracting COVID-19, and that the company was obligated to prioritise its clients’ safety.
“Ms Glover was unwilling to get the vaccine as directed and it followed that she did not have the capacity to do the job,” Howard said. “We acted accordingly.”
Glover is one of 35 Ozcare employees who refused the flu vaccine, according to The Australian. Fifteen of those employees later relented and were vaccinated, six resigned and 10 were sacked.
Four employees, including Glover, said they had medical objections to the vaccination. However, Glover denied a request by Ozcare to have a doctor assess her supposed allergy.
Glover said her termination was “heartbreaking” and said that Ozcare should have assigned her to a different role.
“I understand Ozcare has a duty of care not only for their clients but also for the employees,” she said. “They should have a system in place for those employees who were working there before the new mandate.”
FWC Commissioner Jennifer Hunt said she would prioritise her decision on the case, citing “genuine public interest.” Hunt is expected to make a finding sometime in April, The Australian reported.
