Bizz3228 event discusses workplace disputes

LAW firm Coulter Roache guided some of Torquay’s small business owners through the intricacies of dispute resolution with sick and injured workers at the latest Bizz3228 networking event.

Organised by Torquay Commerce and Tourism, the October event at the RACV Torquay Resort featured Martin Reid and Simone Welsh from Coulter Roache, which has five offices in the Geelong region (including Torquay).

Asked by TCT’s Dave Isaacs about what medical information a new employee would have to tell their employer, Mr Reid said “it really comes down to a question of what the role of the employee is”.

He said pre-employment checks were common in industries such as mining as it was a way to see if someone met the inherent requirements of the position, but there needed to be a connection with the employment.

“For example, with a truck driver, you’d be perfectly entitled to check if their eyes were okay.”

On the subject of employees who constantly took sick days, Mr Reid said there was “not a lot” an employer could do to dismiss the person until that employee had taken 90 or more days in a year.

Ms Welsh said the “relatively innocuous and unhelpful” nature of information on medical certificates did not help employers either.

“Courts are reluctant to overturn medical certificates, they’re seen as a little bit sacrosanct.”

She said the rules and obligations for employers were very different when comparing someone who had injured themselves at work (who automatically fall under the WorkCover system) compared to someone who had injured themselves in some other way.