Gardner v Secretary of the Treasury (Department of Justice - Corrective Services NSW) [2014] NSWIRComm 52

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Gardner v Secretary of the Treasury (Department of Justice - Corrective Services NSW) [2014] NSWIRComm 52 Hearing dates: 28 August 2014 Decision date: 02 October 2014 Jurisdiction: Industrial Relations Commission Before: Boland AJ Decision: The Commission makes the following order: The application by Darren Gardner for reinstatement under s 242 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 is refused Catchwords: REINSTATEMENT - Application for reinstatement under s 241 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 - Applicant employed as temporary employee on fixed term contract - Application suffered psychological injury at work - Fixed term contract extended for one month following applicant's injury - Applicant's employment came to an end at expiration of period of extension - Whether applicant dismissed because he was not fit for employment as a result of the psychological injury - Meaning of "dismissed" in s 241(1) of the Workers Compensation Act - Whether there is a "dismissal" when contract of employment terminates by effluxion of time - Application refused Legislation Cited: Industrial Relations Act 1991 Industrial Relations Act 1996 Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 Workers Compensation Act 1987 Cases Cited: Robinson v Commissioner of Police [2014] NSWIRComm 35 Smith v Director-General of School Education [1993] NSWIRComm 134; (1993) 31 NSWLR 349 Speirs v Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales & Anor [2011] NSWCA 206 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Darren Jacob Gardner (Applicant) Corrective Services NSW (Respondent) Representation: J Murphy of counsel (Respondent) Ian Collins (Applicant) Corrective Services NSW (Respondent) File Number(s): IRC 357 of 2014