The facts on compulsory coronavirus vaccination in the workplace 

Last week the Nine newspapers reported a Fair Work Commission decision to uphold the right of an employer, in this case major childcare provider Goodstart Early Learning, to fire a staff member, Bou-Jamie Barber, who refused to take the flu vaccine. The headline suggested that this was a decision with major implications for businesses’ power to demand employees get coronavirus jabs.  

The article quoted Ian Neil SC, a labour law barrister who was not involved in the Barber case. He said it was the first considered decision on the subject and suggested employers with vulnerable workforces could mandate a coronavirus vaccine.  

Commissioner deputy president Nicholas Lake found it was reasonable to require…