Legal rights while on sick leave

Kerry-Lee47

Hello,
I got diagnosed with invasive breast cancer April 2018, since then I have had a double Mastectomy, Chemo and still have reconstruction and Hysterectomy to go as I have the BRACA gene.
i am signed off till June 2019. Just before I was diagnosed I was promoted to a new position managing a team of 7. This position was absorbed by management in my absence and still is.
My employer has now advertised my previous job (which I did for 3 years) before my promotion and has said my new position won’t be there to go back to when I finish my treatment in a July can they do this!! What are my rights? I love my job and am shocked at this as I thought my employer was a decent person, his wife suffered breast cancer years ago so I am shocked she is allowing this. To make things worse she is the HR Manager so her advice will not be impartial. Women should look out for other women. I have a massive car loan taken out to do the job and have accrued $20,000 on credit cards from medical bills. I have been paid 10 days pay in 9 months yet my employer seems to think he has been very supportive! Do I have a case for redundancy or unfair dismissal? Not sure where to go for advice. Thankyou

iserbrown

Here's a link to a BNCA document 

https://www.bcna.org.au/work-and-breast-cancer/employee/your-legal-rights-and-responsibilities/

arpie

That sounds totally unfair to me, @Kerry-Lee47  - I hope we have some employment legal eagles here who may be able to help you , as well as the link that @iserbrown has put above

All the best xxx

Sister

This does sound unfair. @zoffiel ?

brightspace

Hi @Kerry-Lee47 No this is not acceptable work place practice

Please see website for ....fair work commission.. as this group provides assistance for negotiating disputes for employees

Your employer has to act in accordance with Australian gov policy for work place aggreements

If you are a member of a union  please contact them immediadely as they will provide legal  support 
Al the best 
Bright in hope

Zoffiel

Hi @Kerry-Lee47
If you have been absent from work for more than three months things get tricky. You can certainly be made redundant while on sick leave, as long as your medical condition is not the reason your job is the one to go. Redundancy payouts are tied to periods of unbroken employment so if you have been taking extended unpaid leave you may not be entitled to a payout. I have to stress that what I am telling you should not be taken as gospel, you really need to talk to fairwork and it is possible you will need some legal advice if the commission suggests you have been treated unfairly.
It sounds like your boss is a right dick. Tread carefully and get everything in writing. I'm not sure what you mean by 'signed off', I'm assuming you have a medical certificate. It would probably also be helpful if you had made a formal agreement with your boss regarding your extended absence.

I will do a bit of investigating after the weekend but, unfortunately, we can be vulnerable to shitty treatment as your employer also has rights which protect their business interests. The size of the business dictates some of the terms regarding unfair dismissal. Other factors can be your award or enterprise agreement. Its all a bit complicated. I'll PM you once I've done a bit of digging, but, once again, this does not constitute legal advice.  I'm sorry this has happened to you.  MXX

iserbrown

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ending-employment/unfair-dismissal

http://dismissals.com.au/

Trinny

Hi Kerry-Lee47
Im sorry for your situation, this is shit when you have had to deal with so much already.
I have a boss who is very sly in her work ethics and a bully towards me, staff have left due to her tactics and others acknowledged her attitude towards me but to scared to say anything. Im due in surgery tomorrow but will seek advice from Fair Work as to how I move forward with this situation.
I wish you the best of luck

Kerry-Lee47

Thanks everyone for your advice and support. My work have done the right thing by me now after I stated I knew my rights. Good luck tomorrow Trinny xx

Zoffiel

Good luck tomorrow @trinny. Wow, that all happened really quickly, which is a good thing. Mxx