Managing a mentally ill employee brings its own unique challenges

Key Points:

When dealing with a mentally ill employee, an employer must balance various considerations and avoid assumptions, speculation and urban myth.

A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission has highlighted the significant challenges and risks facing employers when seeking to terminate employees suffering from mental illness.

In Applicantv Respondent [2013] FWC 7421, the Fair Work Commission found that a public hospital had unfairly dismissed an employee from his audio-typist position on the basis of his mental illness.

An employee's conduct causes concern

Following repeated complaints by other employees about what they described as the Applicant's "weird'' and "disturbing" emails, the Respondent's Employee Relations Manager met with the Applicant on 16 March 2013.