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Medical incapacity botch up costs employer $48K…
An employee has been dismissed for medical incapacity after he was declared medically unfit for work and was placed on indefinite sick leave. The employee did not have a medical condition, but was stressed out and unhappy in the workplace.
The Employment Court upheld the employee’s personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal.
The employer terminated the employee under a medical incapacity clause in the employment agreement, but failed to follow the set procedure set out in the clause.
The employer was required to arrange for the employee to undergo a medical examination by a registered medical practitioner and was supposed to give the employee a chance to obtain his own medical report. The employer was required to take into account the reports when assessing the employee’s fitness for work. However, at no stage in the dismissal process did the employer seek a medical report, and instead the employer dismissed the employee on the basis of a medical certificate the employee provided for sick leave purposes.
The Employment Court ordered the employer to pay the employee $48,000, which included $29,700 in compensation for hurt, humiliation, and injury to feelings.