NSW: Centrelink to reinstate sacked workers

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2001
NSW: Centrelink to reinstate sacked workers

By Krystyna Pollard

SYDNEY, Aug 16 AAP - Centrelink was today ordered to reinstate an employee who claimed
he was sacked for working too hard.

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), however, also found Geoffrey
Scott contributed to his own misfortune.

Centrelink said it would not appeal against the decision and maintained its right to
direct staff had been upheld by the commission.

Mr Scott, 35, was dismissed from his position at Centrelink in Wollongong in December
last year for breaching directions not to help fellow workers in different sections serve
customers.

The AIRC today ruled Mr Scott had been unfairly dismissed, with Commission Senior Deputy
President David Duncan finding the sacking was harsh and unreasonable.

Mr Duncan ordered Centrelink to appoint Mr Scott to another position equal to his previous
job within two weeks.

Centrelink was also ordered to pay Mr Scott the wages he would have earned between
December 2000 and today.

During the AIRC hearing, supervisor Leanne McKay said Mr Scott was moved to Centrelink's
retirements and disabilities section in March last year but continued to help other sections,
particularly Newstart.

He was told to stop helping the other sections as he did not have the necessary expertise,
she said.

A Centrelink process consultant told the commission Mr Scott created extra work for
staff as customers had to be recontacted in some cases and return for an interview because
of his oversights.

Commissioner Duncan ruled the directions to Mr Scott to confine himself to the retirement
section of the office and to concentrate on his own work were lawful and reasonable.

But he found Mr Scott had changed his ways after receiving warnings.

"On the evidence before the commission, Mr Scott had very substantially amended his
ways in light of the warnings he received," Commissioner Duncan said in his judgment.

He described Mr Scott's termination as "harsh and unreasonable" but found he was a
contributor to his own misfortune.

"Cognisant of the fact that Mr Scott was to a certain extent a contributor to his own
misfortune, it is not appropriate to order total lost remuneration be paid," he said.

"The order that I will issue will provide for Mr Scott to be reimbursed for all salary
lost as a result of the termination less monies earned during the period prior to the
reinstatement ...

"This reflects my view that while management was misguided and over-reacted, it nevertheless
was exercising authority which it was entitled to exercise."

Centrelink national manager Hank Jongen said the AIRC ruling had upheld the agency's
right to supervise and give directions to staff.

"Importantly, the judgment should put to rest once and for all the absurd notion that
Centrelink would sack someone for working too hard," he said in a statement.

Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Wendy Caird welcomed the ruling.

"(Mr Scott) was given a direction and didn't obey it; there are not too many grey areas
in that," she said.

"But the finding was that the punishment was extreme; that's what was wrong."

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KEYWORD: CENTRELINK NIGHTLEAD

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