DaveB:

 

You are more than likely correct. And therein lies my issue.

 

Nowadays, does it take many years  for an employer to find the lamest of (irrelevant) excuses to fire somebody should their ability to perform their duties decline , or are employee rights so entrenched that they can be considered a bad employee and get away with it for an extended period of time? 

 

And worse of all, regardless of the country involved - How can a council justify the legals costs involved of bringing this issue to the courts, especialy if they had lost, let alone the taxpayer costs of providing that court of hearing?

 

A person either performs their duties or they do not. To blame it on a cold left over sausage(s) is the most pathetic excuse I have seen.

 

A pc world gone mad again.

 

In Australia, it absolutely does. It's nearly impossible to fire someone in the private sector, let alone the public sector due to over-powerful unions, ridiculously employee-centric employment law, and general apathy. We're talking about a country where even the minimum wage is different per industry, and negotiated between the unions and the government - with the only option to opt out of the agreement (so-called "award") being to offer a contract with better terms overall than it. And on top of this, individual employment agreements are outright illegal - all contracts are collectively negotiated!

Being incompetent in Australia doesn't even come close to a firing offense, you actually have to find something that you can claim is either outright illegal or gross misconduct to terminate.