An after-school club manager who lost her job after failing to return to work on grounds of family illness was not unfairly dismissed, an Employment Tribunal has ruled.
Dismissal for sickness
Workplace Law reported this week that Ms Nicola Gardiner, who worked for Fife Council, was diagnosed with “stress relating to family illness” and declared unfit to work in October 2011. At interviews with the Council and Occupational Health in May and June 2012 about a possible return to work, it was reported that there had been no change in her health and that a date for her return to work could not be predicted.
A capability hearing in August 2012 selected to dismiss Ms Gardiner due to ill health.
Ms Gardiner claimed unfair dismissal for sickness at an Employment Tribunal earlier this year. But the Tribunal rejected her claim, ruling that the Council had complied with employment law, carrying out a proper procedure, and that her dismissal was fair.
