Think Before You Dismiss… employers’ obligations to provide assistance to injured workers

By Joan Napoli

Many employers appear to be unclear about their obligations towards injured workers under anti-discrimination laws

There seems to be a common belief that after employers have made attempts at rehabilitation and complied with statutory time limits under workers' compensation laws, they can dismiss an employee who is unable to return to pre-injury duties. This ignores a further step that is required before dismissal can lawfully take place.

A recent decision, Perlidis v Brambles Security Services Ltd Trading As Brambles Armoured [2003] NSWADT 11, of the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal highlights the issue well. The Anti-Discrimination Act comes and the Federal Disability Discrimination Act come into the picture.

(Anti Discrimination board of NSW. Equal Time. no. 56, May 2003)