{"id":1233,"date":"2020-03-12T11:43:37","date_gmt":"2020-03-12T01:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/workplaceculturematters.com.au\/?p=1233"},"modified":"2020-06-10T16:02:12","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T06:02:12","slug":"toot-toot-chugga-chugga-big-fat-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/?p=1233","title":{"rendered":"Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Fat Lie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Being\na working parent, whether it is full-time, part-time or as a casual, can be\nhard. There is the juggling act between an employee\u2019s duties to their employer and\nwanting to give their children every opportunity and experience before they are\ntoo old to not like them anymore. In the workplace there are still some\nnegative perceptions around working parents, whether they are actual or imagined.\nFor example, working parents can feel guilty for requesting a day of annual\nleave to take their child to a children\u2019s concert, such as the Wiggles or\nJustine Clarke. Some parents take the risk of having a \u2018sickie<\/em>\u2019 to\nalleviate this guilt. However, working parents who do this risk their jobs. The\ncase of Sean\nMamo v Robjan Pty Ltd t\/a Yarrawonga Toyota <\/em>[2019] FWC 7900<\/a> is an\nexample of a working father who took this risk and lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean\nMamo v Robjan Pty Ltd t\/a Yarrawonga Toyota <\/em>[2019] FWC 7900<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr\nMamo, a father of a young son, had his claim for unfair dismissal rejected by\nthe Fair Work Commission (the FWC<\/strong>). Mr Mamo claimed a day of\npersonal\/carer\u2019s leave informing his employer that his son was unwell. However,\nMr Mamo\u2019s son was in fact not sick. The reason for the leave was so Mr Mamo\ncould take his son to a Wiggles concert. Mr Mamo believed any request for\nannual leave would be rejected. A photograph of Mr Mamo and his son at the\nWiggles concert was posted to social media and shown to Mr Mamo\u2019s employer.\nWhen asked about his leave Mr Mamo first denied that he had taken his son to a\nWiggles concert. However, when shown the photo Mr Mamo admitted to falsely\nclaiming personal\/carer\u2019s leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy\nPresident Colman held that Mr Mamo had not been unfairly dismissed. It was not an\nunfair dismissal because his employer had a valid reason for dismissal. Falsely\nclaiming personal\/carer\u2019s leave amounts to misconduct because it is a breach of\nan employee\u2019s duty of good faith, it obtains a financial advantage by deception\nand claims a legitimate right to be absent from work when there is none based\non the facts. Mr Mamo deliberately misleading his employer was of sufficient\ngravity to warrant his dismissal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nare the legitimate reasons for taking paid personal\/carer\u2019s leave and what is\nan employee\u2019s duty of good faith?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal\/Carer\u2019s\nLeave<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paid\npersonal\/carer\u2019s leave is one of the 10 National Employment Standards in the Fair\nWork Act 2009<\/em> (Cth) (the FW Act<\/em><\/strong>). An employee is entitled to\n10 days of paid personal\/carer\u2019s leave per year. Any unused paid\npersonal\/carer\u2019s leave is accrued from year to year. Section 97 of the FW\nAct<\/em> outlines that an employee is only able to take paid personal\/carer\u2019s\nleave if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n