Qantas right to sack worker who didn’t have COVID jab – while on leave

Qantas initially announced that all frontline staff across the group, including pilots, cabin crew and ground services workers would be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by 15 November 2021, or face dismissal.

Willoughby, who had worked for Jetstar for 15 years, delayed getting her COVID vaccine until her return from long service leave in May of 2022 – six months after the deadline.

In her submission to the FWC, Willoughby argued she had not believed the vaccination policy applied to employees on long service leave.

However, FWC vice president Ingrid Asbury pointed to emails between Willoughby and a superior where the former had questioned why she needed to be vaccinated when not at work, and if she would continue to be paid while on long service leave if unvaccinated.

“I was left with the overwhelming impression that (Willoughby) did all she could to create an appearance of confusion to cover her wilful refusal to comply with a lawful and reasonable direction given by her employer,” Commissioner Asbury wrote in her ruling.

“This is not a case where a longstanding employee with an unblemished work history failed to comply with a policy because of an honest and reasonable belief that it did not apply. Rather, (Willoughby’s) noncompliance was wilful and unreasonable.”

Vaccine mandates have proven a sore point for numerous airline staff, with a group of Qantas workers last year suing the Flying Kangaroo in the Federal Court with a case that the judge labelled “unclear” and “unsatisfactory”, and a group of former Virgin employees taking their unfair dismissal case to the Fair Work Commission last March.

Qantas last July followed the Federal Government in dropping vaccine mandates for passengers.