|
|
Can you be sacked after faking a sickie? |
An employee was summarily dismissed as a consequence of incidents involving their absence from work. Namely, he had misused his sick leave and then he had lied to his employer about the reason for his absence. However, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) held that the dismissal was a disproportionate punishment and his termination was therefore harsh, unjust and unreasonable. |
The employee was entitled to up to 80 hours of sick leave per year pursuant to an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) subject to the requirement that a medical certificate be produced for absences of more than two consecutive working days. He had called in sick claiming back pain on one day only to have, in fact, attended the wedding of a work colleague that evening. In a subsequent meeting with the General Manager, the employee explained that he lied about his absence because the General Manager was becoming quite aggressive. |
On another occasion, the employee claimed to have had back pain such that he could not work. He also claimed to have made an appointment to see a doctor the following day. |
Following these incidents, the employee was informed that his conduct amounted to gross misconduct and that as he had been given a prior warning about a very similar matter, he was summarily terminated. |
On the basis of these findings, Watson concluded that the termination was disproportionate to the gravity of the conduct in respect of which the employer acted. A more appropriate course would have been to give the employee a final warning. |
Watson ordered reinstatement, together with an order compensating the employee for loss of remuneration and an order requiring the maintenance of his continuity of service. |
An Employer should always give a written warning before terminating an employee for "faking a sickie". |
Hickleton v Group 4 Correction Services Pty Ltd AIRC (Watson SDP) (PR950548) 6/8/04 |
peter.mcnamara@cml.com.au
|
