An employee has succeeded in his personal grievance claim
for wrongful dismissal and been awarded lost wages and compensation after the
employer got the procedure wrong when dismissing for medical incapacity.
The employer obtained a medical report that said the
employee’s eyesight was not sufficient to allow him to continue as a driver but
a second opinion should be obtained. The
employer did not get a second opinion but dismissed the employee of 38 years
standing.
The ERA ordered the employee to get a doctor’s
certificate. This one found that his
eyesight was not such that he could not drive but other conditions meant he was
unfit to drive. The ERA refused to
reinstate the employee as he was still unfit to drive.
However, it awarded over 1 year of wages and $15,000
compensation for the failure to follow a proper process in the medical
dismissal even though the decision to dismiss was actually justified.
Alan
Knowsley
Employment
Lawyer Wellington
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