The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently dealt with an unfair dismissal claim, where an employee argued she was unfairly dismissed after her medical condition prevented her from performing domestic assistance duties.
The employee stated her previous employer had successfully accommodated her condition by assigning mostly non-domestic duties, and argued that her dismissal was discriminatory since she could still perform other aspects of the role.
The employee started working with a senior homecare support services company in June 2022, after their acquisition of a labour hire agency that previously employed her.
Medical capacity at work
The employee had osteoarthritis in her knees that affected her ability to perform manual domestic tasks associated with home care. A doctor’s report from September 2022 indicated she could perform certain tasks with restrictions, including cleaning floors, sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming for 60-90 minutes daily, and carrying loads up to 7kg.
In May 2024, the employee informed her employer she could no longer perform domestic assistance duties. The employer placed her on ‘special paid leave’, continuing to pay her average fortnightly wages despite her casual status.
Workplace medical assessments
After an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a report from her current doctor, the employer arranged an independent medical assessment. The doctor conducting the assessment stated that the employee had confirmed to him that she did not believe that she could do heavy tasks, including vacuuming, mopping, or cleaning the bath and shower, and that she and her treating doctor believed that she could not do general household chores.
The employer testified that domestic assistance duties comprised 80% of their services. The employer’s homecare business model is built around providing comprehensive care for its clients, and that the majority of care provided involves helping clients with household tasks such as cleaning, meal preparation, shopping, and other non-medical assistance.
Employee’s medical capacity affects operations
The evidence showed the business model required employees to handle comprehensive care. The employer explained that it would be impractical to send a home care worker to do the domestic assistance work for a client and then send a second worker to do the other work. The employer also noted that allocating more domestic work to other members of staff would be unfair, as most preferred using their qualifications for non-domestic assistance work.
Findings
The FWC found the dismissal was not harsh, unjust, or unreasonable. It determined that it was an inherent requirement of the employee’s role as a home care worker with the employer that she be able to perform domestic assistance duties, and that she was unable to perform that work. The Commission also noted that the fact that the employee’s previous employer was able to accommodate their medical capacity, does not mean that the current employer should reasonably be expected to do so.
The FWC dismissed the application, concluding there was no discrimination, and that the employee was dismissed because she could not meet the requirements of the role. It would not have been reasonable for the employer to roster the employee only on non-domestic assistance work, and that this would involve an inefficient and unfair segmentation of labour.
If you have an employee with a medical capacity that limits their ability to perform their role, and would like to know your obligations and rights as an employer, get in touch with our team today.
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