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An employer that stopped a pregnant employee's sick leave payments after she failed to meet a vaccination deadline acted lawfully, the Fair Work Commission has found.

The Eastern Health associate nurse unit manager was certified unfit for work due to illness from 15 October to 12 November 2021. The start of her leave coincided with a Victorian Government mandate requiring her employer to refuse unvaccinated employees entry to its facility unless they had a booking to receive their first dose by 29 October.

The employer told the employee that if she failed to provide evidence of either booking or receiving a vaccination by 15 October, she'd be stood down and her sick leave entitlement would cease.

A week after this deadline, the employee confirmed she'd booked her first dose on 27 October. The employer informed her she was no longer stood down and would be paid sick leave...