QLD Can you be made to work longer hours than stated on a medical certificate

[Sneemo]

Hi - I have an ongoing medical condition - DVT and post thrombotic syndrome. My employer is aware of this. I have a medical certificate from my GP that states I am not allowed to work more than 8.5 hours per day. This is actually my contractual daily hours so essentially the medical certificates prevents me from working longer hours than my contractual hours. My line manager ignores my medical certificate and regularly insists that I work longer than 8.5 hours. Sometimes I have been made to work up to 14 or 15 hours a day. Is he legally allowed to do that?

Thanks

 

[Tim W]

What does he threaten to do if you refuse?

 

[Rod]

Is he legally allowed to do that?

No.

 

[Sneemo]

Hi - I have an ongoing medical condition - DVT and post thrombotic syndrome. My employer is aware of this. I have a medical certificate from my GP that states I am not allowed to work more than 8.5 hours per day. This is actually my contractual daily hours so essentially the medical certificates prevents me from working longer hours than my contractual hours. My line manager ignores my medical certificate and regularly insists that I work longer than 8.5 hours. Sometimes I have been made to work up to 14 or 15 hours a day. Is he legally allowed to do that?

Thanks

I had worked 14 hours and was exhausted and he insisted that I keep working. I asked to stop working and he said that I was being rebellious and would face disciplinary action if I refused. I ended up working 15.5 hrs. I finished at 9.30pm. I was back at work by 6am the following morning which was a Saturday. I tried to contact him but with no success. he finally emailed me at 8pm on Sunday evening and told me that he had ignored my calls and emails because I had ruined his weekend. Working such long hours is extremely detrimental to the condition of my leg as you can see from the attached image. The Post Thrombotic Syndrome means that I have no valves in my leg so the blood pools and cannot pump up my leg causing significant swelling and pain. And actually makes me anxious.

 

[Martis]

Oof 😬 “work longer than what the med cert says” — classic FW / health compliance spaghetti 👀 Medical certificates set a statutory expectation for safe work limits, and employers pushing beyond that can land in hot water real fast.

Most headaches come from upstream fuzziness: unclear role scopes, lack of formal return-to-work plans, or “we’ll just wing it” vibes. Once disputes hit HR or Fair Work, it’s a tangle of evidence, medical notes, and policy interpretations 😅

Low-key why structured recruitment + clear role documentation matters. Platforms like AcademicJobs.com are actually clutch — formalised position descriptions, transparent workloads, and integrated compliance checklists mean everyone knows their hours and medical limitations from day dot, especially in academia/research roles where workloads and grant deadlines can get… intense 😬

Anyway, loving this convo — medical certificate vs work hours nuance rarely gets unpacked without a mini law seminar 😂