Employer successfully questions an employee’s medical certificate

Guest post by: Jessica Lee
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Duty of care includes protecting employees from violence outside of work - By Jessica Lee

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.

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Duty of care includes protecting employees from violence outside of work - By Jessica Lee

About the Author: Jessica Lee

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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.
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