COVID-19: Dad fires son from family firm over refusal to get vaccinated

The owner of a building firm in Melbourne, Peter Wishart, was forced to lay his son off because he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Wishart who is the managing director of Facelift for Homes said he had ‘no other option’ but to sack the general manager who is his son, Daniel, on Tuesday after vaccinations were made mandatory for construction workers.

Protests have broken out across Australia’s second-largest city after the Victorian government shut sites for two weeks to try and limit the spread of the virus.

Employees will also have to show proof they have had a first jab to continue working from Friday.

He called Tuesday ‘the toughest day of my life’ and told 3AW’s Breakfast Show he had ‘never cried so much’ while coming to terms with the decision.

Wishart said, "Today’s going to be the worst day of my life, business career-wise. I have to go into work today and put my son off."

"I’ve been in business for 50 years and I employ 10 other people, and it’s gonna be the hardest day of my life.

"I’ve listened to my son about the reasons – he doesn’t believe the vaccination has been proved enough.

"I’ve tried to persuade him, but I’m not going to push him into doing something he doesn’t want to do."