ARTICLE · 19 APRIL 2010

What Are Inherent Requirements?

Norton Rose Fulbright Australia

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Allan John Button v J Boag & Son Brewing Pty Ltd [2010] FWA 148 highlights the importance of carefully considering what the inherent requirements of a job are, before terminating an employee’s employment on the basis they can’t perform them. It also emphasises the importance of considering what the role actually is if the employee has been performing modified duties for an extended period

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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A recent case highlights the importance of carefully considering what the inherent requirements of a job are, before terminating an employee's employment on the basis they can't perform them. It also emphasises the importance of considering what the role actually is if the employee has been performing modified duties for an extended period.

In Allan John Button v J Boag & Son Brewing Pty Ltd [2010] FWA 148 Fair Work Australia found that the employee could perform the inherent requirements of a modified role, which he had been performing for almost a year. Further, he could perform the requirements of the original substantive role with the assistance of his colleagues. Fair Work Australia found that he had been unfairly dismissed, and ordered that he be reinstated.

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