Reinstatement

Obligations to an injured worker continue even after the worker has been dismissed. A dismissed injured worker

may make application for reinstatement within two years of dismissal if a medical certificate is produced to the employer certifying that the worker is fit for employment in his or her former position, or for other ‘work of a kind’.

This can result in an employer having to reinstate a former employee to a part-time position or to another suitable role if the former position is no longer available.

If successful in an application for reinstatement, the worker may obtain orders:

• that the worker be reinstated to his or her former position, or
• that the worker be appointed to another position on terms and conditions no less favourable than the former position, and
• that the worker be paid any wages or other remuneration lost in the period between the application for reinstatement and re-employment.

If a worker is reinstated, his or her continuity of service with the employer is not affected by the dismissal and subsequent reinstatement, although the period between dismissal and reinstatement is not taken into account for calculating long service leave entitlements, etc.

A worker who has voluntarily resigned from employment cannot apply for reinstatement relying upon sections 240 – 250.