Employee resigns and takes sick leave payout

[sam kada]

I have an employee that was not performing her role as basic reception duties, when questioned about her performance she became sarcastic and stated she did not let me know that the stereo in the reception area did not work because i was forgetful.

Later that day i had a formal meeting with the employee and gave her 4 weeks termination notice. The next day she resigned with one weeks notice. The day after i recieved an emailed medical certificate stating she was suffering from work place stress.

She did not win the work cover case and is now disputing it stating that i verbally abused her on two occasions one in october last year and the second when i terminated her.

My insurance company is looking at a 10 week payout to her plus she is demanding for me to pay her for the 1 week of sick leave that she was meant to work.

What are my rights and what can i do to make this situation work better ? i am a very small business and paying her for this amount of money is not a financial option for me.

Thanks !!!!!

[Moz]

You say you can't afford to pay her, but in normal circumstances employees have an annual sick leave allowance and as an employer you have to make provisions for that, just like you have to make provisions for people to take annual leave.

If she had a medical certificate, then unless you have a legitimate reason to challenge that certificate and the doctor that issued it, then you have to pay her, assuming of course that she had the requisite sick leave accrued. However, given that your Workcover appears to have accepted her claim I'd say you were wasting your time questioning the medical certificate.

If she didn't have sufficient sick leave, assuming you have paid her out any accrued annual leave, then I don't see that she can demand to be paid.

Did she have any sick leave accrued?

[HeidiC]

I hope you have lots of notes on her performance and the reason for her termination. If you can prove that you handled this situation in a calm, professional manner then she cannot win her medical stress leave or verbal abuse claim. But the onus is on you to prove that you did not verbally abuse her in any way. Did you have any witnesses of your discussions?

Collate all your notes and documentation for this case to assist you against the appeal. But I agree with Moz - you need to pay the 1 week's sick leave, but get an original copy of the certificate and check with the doctor on the certificate to authenticate it (I had an employee that faked one off the internet).

I don't understand why the insurance company is considering the 10 week payout - is there more to this story?