Dismissing an Employee for Health Reasons
How do you dismiss an employee who has had recurring amounts of sick leave? What do you do when they ask for reduced hours?
Employee health problems can take up huge amounts of time and often employers feel it's easiest to just have the employee leave, especially when they ask for reduced hours or different duties.
However, dismissing an employee for health reasons can expose your organisation to all types of claims given the different areas of the law that may be involved which can include workers’ compensation, WHS, disability discrimination and employer obligations under the Fair Work Act.
Performance and redundancy issues sometimes get mixed in with ill health issues and it’s important for employers to separate these and be able to defend any claims that are made. A recent court ruling vividly demonstrated a contravention of the Fair Work Act with an employer being ordered to pay 3 months pay with interest and over $25,000 in damages and penalties to an employee with a heart condition who was dismissed.
Key steps to follow to assist you manage ill and injured workers are:
- Communicate with your employee – ensure they keep in touch and you maintain contact regarding their return to work.
- Take a proactive approach to the employee's rehabilitation and management.
- Manage the absence by ensuring that a long-term ill or injured employee continues to have evidence of their incapacity via medical certificates.
- If it’s dragging on, arrange for an independent medical assessment to ascertain when and if the employee can return to the job that you employed them for.
- If required, consider what alternative duties the employee might be able to perform temporarily until they are able to return to their normal role.
- Ensure that you comply with workers' compensation notification requirements and WHS requirements.
- Ensure that you comply with your company's own policies and industrial instruments.
We advise that you tread carefully and contact us for advice if considering terminating the employment of an employee who has been on continuous sick leave for an extended period or has a history of frequently taking sick leave.