The medical certificate named two people - that detail set off a misconduct probe
A worker resigned after his employer questioned his medical certificate. The Fair Work Commission ruled he was not forced out.
The case, decided on August 28, 2026, turned on a narrow but common question for employers: when a worker quits after a misconduct investigation, was it really the employer that ended the job?
The worker, a field technician supervisor employed by Hills Health Pty Ltd since 2015, took leave in October 2025 and lodged a handwritten medical certificate through the company's payroll app. Two managers were uneasy about it. The certificate was issued in two people's names - his and his wife's - and it did not clearly identify the doctor.
The company's people and culture manager emailed Prince of Wales Private Hospital to check whether the certificate was genuine. When the hospital said the worker did not appear in its records, the company sent him a formal letter alleging serious misconduct through suspected falsification of the certificate, and opened an investigation.
There was an innocent explanation for the gap. The worker was never the patient. His four-year-old daughter had surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids, and the leave was to care for her. But he did not tell his employer that until November 11, 2025 - after his wife, and then he himself, had described the absence as his own illness.
Once he explained, the company moved quickly. It accepted his account as...
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