Vaccination mandate set to create worker, business showdown

A showdown is emerging between unvaccinated workers and business owners with staff threatening legal action if they are sacked ahead of the December 17 jab deadline.

A showdown is emerging between unvaccinated workers and business owners with staff threatening legal action if they are sacked ahead of the government’s December 17 jab deadline.

One Gold Coast hospitality business owner said three of his 20 staff had provided letters declaring they would not be vaccinated and threatened legal action if they were sacked.

The owner, who declined to be named, asked staff their vaccination status in anticipation of the December 17 deadline when it will be illegal for people who have not received the jab to work in cafes, pubs, clubs and restaurants.

In response, three staff provided a template letter indicating they were not vaccinated and claimed they could not be dismissed.

“They’re saying that wasn’t in their terms of employment, which in this industry you live by,” the owner said.

Workers are threatening their bosses with legal action if they are dismissed after the December 17 cut off. Picture: Getty Images/Generic

“They’re saying why should I lose my job?”

The hospitality veteran said the government’s vaccination mandate had opened a “can of worms”, with business owners concerned they would be liable.

He asked: “What if they do have a reaction to the vaccine, where does that leave the business that’s enforcing it … or am I subject to unfair dismissal, have I unfairly dismissed someone?”

Battles between reluctant business owners and their unvaccinated staff are starting to occur across the state.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland Policy and Advocacy General Manager Amanda Rohan said there were “hundreds of businesses” across the state with concerns about dealing with staff resistant to the mandate.

CCIQ's Amanda Rohan

“Businesses are genuinely concerned about losing staff just when they’re ready and able to get back to business, and in an already tight labour market,” she said.

“They’re also concerned about impacts of the mandate on their customers.”

It is understood businesses would be protected from enforcing the vaccine mandate under workplace health and safety rules, but Ms Rohan said each business needed to “consider their circumstances individually”.

The vaccination mandate is expected to significantly affect the hospitality industry, which is already facing a chronic shortage of workers.

“You’re coming into the busiest time of the year and you’re going to lose 20 per cent of staff,” the Gold Coast business owner said.

“It will cost jobs in an industry which is already struggling to find people.”

The state government said the mandate was to protect Queenslanders once the borders open and Covid starts to circulate in the community.

It said restrictions on unvaccinated people were necessary to “ensure we don’t overwhelm our hospital system when we have outbreaks”.

Ms Rohan said businesses were “desperate for more details” on what would happen if a Covid-positive person visited their venue, whether staff would have access to Rapid Antigen Testing, and what would happen when the state reaches the 90 per cent vaccination milestone.