Young workers often fired for being sick

BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A study of 1,200 dismissal complaints by 15- to 24-year-old employees in Australia found one in five were fired for taking one day off for being sick.

One-fifth of sick leave cases that ended up in firings had provided a medical certificate, study leader Dr. Paula McDonald of Queensland University of Technology said.

"Several cases described serious medical problems that clearly restricted the employee's ability to attend work, such as a heart attack, wisdom teeth removal and cancer," McDonald said in a statement.

McDonald said 80 percent of the young workers who were fired after being injured had been injured at work.

The study also found:

-- 19 percent were forced to leave their jobs due to bullying and harassment, with a quarter of those cases involving sexual harassment, mostly against young women.

-- 18 percent of dismissals involved accusations of theft, fraud or misconduct.

-- 14 percent of dismissals occurred over pay or contract-related issues and complaints.

-- 12 percent of the cases alleged poor performance was the reason for dismissal.

-- 10 percent of cases involved discrimination, usually against women and often involving pregnancy.

-- 8 percent of cases involved operational reasons such as redundancy or reduction of hours.