In this case a Crown Casino employee who was a football fanatic had booked flights to watch the last game of Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy and player James Hird, in Perth. The employee obtained a medical certificate for the day on which the game was held.
Crown Casino became aware that the employee was planning to take sick leave to attend the game in Perth. Crown Casino advised the employee against taking the sick leave and that he should pursue other options such as taking annual leave or swapping his shifts. In addition, the Casino told the employee that it considered the misuse of sick leave as serious misconduct which could lead to the employee’s termination. The employee maintained that he was extremely stressed because of Kevin Sheedy’s impending retirement and that was the basis of the sick leave. Despite the warnings of the Casino, the employee attended the game and sought paid sick leave on that day.
On the employee’s return to work the Casino suspended the employee for three days. At a subsequent meeting the Casino terminated the employee’s employment.
The employee brought a claim that the termination of his employment was for a prohibited reason. The prohibited reason was his temporary absence due to illness.
The Court found that it was only in the most unusual circumstances that an employer would be able to not accept the validity of a medical certificate. The Court held that there were exceptional circumstances in this case and that the Casino was able to legitimately question the validity of the medical certificate. The Court denied the employee’s claim that the termination of his employment was for a prohibited reason.
HR Tip : In most cases an employer must accept the validity of an employee’s medical certificate. However there may be some capacity to question the validity of a medical certificate where the employee is known to not be legitimately sick.
Employer successfully questions an employee’s medical certificate - To learn more about this author, visit Jessica Lee's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
 Employer successfully questions an employee’s medical certificate
|
| |
In a recent case before the Federal Magistrates Court it was determined that the sacking of an employee for not attending work was lawful, despite the fact that the employee had a medical certificate which permitted...
|
|
7 reasons to thank your boss today
|
| |
Employers are often seen as the bad guys when in fact they are everyday heroes and optimists. If you are in a job right now, here are seven reasons to applaud your boss. A job is a very great privilege so go say 'Th...
|
|
Building Training Goals into Employee Reviews
|
| |
One of the many risks an employer takes when it comes to training employees is the retention of information. Some employees may exhibit signs of growth and improvement after partaking in employee training, while oth...
|
|
Employees vs. Contractors - What's The Difference?
|
| |
Whether a person is an independent contractor or an employee generally depends on the amount of control exercised by the employer over the work being done. Dictating how a job is to be done or limiting the actions o...
|
|
Consultancy company penalised for AWA duress
|
| |
The Federal Magistrates Court has found an IR consultancy company jointly liable with an employer for applying duress to an employee in relation to an AWA.
|
|
|
Jessica Lee
(Visit Jessica's Website)
Jessica joined Australian Business Lawyers
in March 2004 and is a Senior Associate
with the firm. She regularly provides
advice and represents clients ina wide
range of employment and industrial law
matters including industrial disputes,
unfair contracts and unfair dismissals.
Jessica has also represented the interests
of various emplyoers in a number of
different tribunals and Courts.
Jessica’s achievements in discrimination
law were awarded with the NSW Bar
Association Prize for excellence in the
subject Anti-Discrimination Law after her
studies at University. Since then, Jessica
has provided advice to clients in relation
to discrimination matters and assisted in
preparing responses to the relevant
government bodies in the event that a
discrimination claim is made.
Jessica has conducted numerous independent
investigations into complaints of
bullying, harassment and sexual harassment
and provides assistance to employers that
are conducting investigations into
workplace grievances and complaints.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
