“It was [the employee’s] decision to return to work in October 2024, which only resulted in a further relapse of their depression for which the IR is not at fault,” Fuiava said.

The reduction reflected changes to employment law requiring greater consideration of employee conduct when assessing remedies.

In a separate recent case, Wynn Fraser Paints employee Keith Gorrett was found to have been unjustifiably dismissed, but his $12,000 compensation was reduced to nil after the authority ruled his unwarranted sexual behaviour towards a colleague was the cause of the dismissal.

Ten medical certificates before dismissal

In the current case, the employee, who has name suppression, had been employed by IR for more than a decade in a supervisory role, overseeing staff in a busy call centre.

In 2024, they developed major depression, were treated by a psychiatrist, and were also diagnosed with chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia, which had gone undiagnosed until June that year.

Between March and September 2024, they provided eight medical certificates covering a period of severe burnout and a major depressive episode.

In October, the psychiatrist recommended a staged return to work, starting with a small number of half days, increasing to more frequent half days, and then progressing to fulltime work later in the month.

The employee initially returned on a reduced schedule of three half days per week, intending to resume fulltime work from October 28, but did not follow the full...

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