A Brisbane-based airline catering firm was right to dismiss a chef for altering a medical certificate so she could return to work a day early after a bout of viral flu, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

The employee was found to have amended the dates on the certificate provided her by a doctor so that she could return to work after four days instead of five, and lied about doing so in two meetings with management. She alleged she was driven by fear of further bullying by her manager than what she had faced since filing a WorkCover claim a couple of months prior, and argued her actions only warranted a warning because she did not have “wrong intentions”.

The employer said the employee’s behaviour breached a specific workplace policy in relation to acts of dishonesty, and was able to prove that she had been trained on the need for medical clearance to return to work after illness. As the employee’s daily responsibilities included handwriting food preparation records to ensure compliance with safety regulations, the employer successfully argued that her actions destroyed any confidence it could have that she would comply with company policy in future.

Commissioner Jennifer Hunt found that both the falsification of the certificate and the employee’s failure to admit her wrongdoing constituted misconduct and therefore valid reasons for dismissal. She said: “Any alterations made by an employee to a medical certificate provided by a doctor have the effect of undermining the confidence employers can have in such important documents.”

Though the manager denied bullying the employee, the commission found that his conduct in standing over her rather than sitting opposite and paying “unnecessary and unhelpful attention” to her workers’ compensation claim during the meetings “reeks of intimidation”.

The commissioner accepted the employee’s argument that she was unreasonably denied a support person from outside the organisation but said the failing was insufficient for a finding of unfair dismissal. It was also noted that the employer failed to follow best practice by not expressly informing the claimant that her answers during the investigation would be used to determine whether termination was an option.

Read the full decision document here.

For advice on conducting effective workplace investigations and strategies for handling bullying complaints, contact our experienced team of workplace relations consultants on 03 8662 5222. To find out about best practice in relation to WorkCover claim review meetings contact our OHS specialists on 03 8662 5333 or register for our next Introduction to WorkCover management course on 19 October.