Unfair Dismissal: Ill-Health Absence

Thanks to Bonike Erinle of Farrar’s Building for preparing this case summary

What is the critical question to be decided in dismissals on grounds of ill-health?

"Whether any reasonable employer would have waited longer before dismissing the employee", says the Court of Session in BS v Dundee City Council.

The Court of Session stated that in a case where an employee has been absent from work for some time owing to sickness, the following issues would need to be specifically addressed:

1. Whether the employer could be expected to wait any longer and, if so, for how much longer. Relevant factors could include whether the employee has exhausted her sick pay, whether the employer was able to call on temporary staff, and the size of the organisation.
2. Whether the employee had been consulted with, whether her views had been taken into account, and whether such views had been properly balanced against the medical professional's opinion.
3. Whether reasonable steps had been taken to discover the employee's medical condition and likely prognosis. It would not be necessary for the employer to pursue detailed medical examination as the decision to dismiss is not a medical question but a question to be answered in the light of the available medical advice.

The Court also pointed out that length of service is not automatically relevant. The important question is whether the length of service, and the manner in which the service was rendered during that period, yields inferences that indicate that the employee is likely to return to work as soon as she can.