ERA case after woman with breast cancer let go for failing to provide health information
The Employment Relations Authority ruled that a retail worker was not unfairly dismissed for medical incapacity, though she was disadvantaged by the employer's failure to explore alternative options. The worker had been terminated after failing to provide medical information while on leave for breast cancer.
Why it matters
Illustrates the complexities of employment law regarding medical leave, privacy, and the duty of employers to accommodate health-related workplace challenges.
A sales and services assistant who worked one day a week in the lingerie section of a retail store says she was “shocked” when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She immediately notified her manager, who she said was supportive, and asked to be removed from the lingerie area as she felt “uncomfortable” helping fit women for bras while struggling with her diagnosis.
But, she says she kept being rostered to the lingerie area and was “harassed” to provide medical information to her employer, so she took three months of unpaid sick leave for stress at her doctor’s suggestion.
The company eventually terminated her employment on the grounds of medical incapacity .
Now the former employee has gone to the Employment Relations Authority claiming she was unjustifiably dismissed through a medical termination in July 2024.
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