9 April 2025

Each week, Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions on workplace, career and leadership in her advice column, Got a Minute? This week: watching a toxic boss flourish, redundancies in small business and questioning medical certificates.

Twenty years ago, I worked in a successful creative company where a new manager initially seemed inspiring but later became toxic. He befriended me, confided in me, and then turned against me – spreading false accusations that led to my redundancy. I later learned he left the company under bad circumstances. Despite his behaviour, he has since thrived in senior roles. Meanwhile, I still feel the sting of the injustice, especially because I didn’t defend myself at the time. How do people like him keep advancing in their careers, and how could I have handled the situation better?

Toxic people like your former manager thrive wherever they can excel at manipulation, networking, and self-promotion — they are masters at winning over the right people while deflecting blame onto others. They target those who might be competent but less likely to fight back. Too many workplaces reward what is achieved over how those results are achieved, allowing people like your former manager to thrive.

Looking back, you were placed in an impossible situation, and it’s understandable that you didn’t know how to react. The best approach would have been to document everything, quietly build alliances with trusted colleagues, and share your side of the story with a senior leader you trusted before the manager’s false accusations gained traction.

Given this happened 20 years ago, my advice is to let it go now. His success does not erase the kind of person he is. Your career has managed to progress without compromising your integrity which is unlikely to be anything he can claim.

I have worked for more than 15 years for one company. At one stage, we were part of a multinational company, employing more than 400 people around the world. The Australian arm of the business was then sold, and we became a small business of less than 15 employees. Less than a month after the change of ownership, I was paid out my notice period but did not receive a redundancy because we were now a small business. Should I have been entitled to the 12-week redundancy payment I was due under Fair Work rules?

It all comes down to timing. If your redundancy was processed after the buyout and the company had fewer than 15 employees at that time, then small businesses are generally exempt from paying redundancy under the Fair Work Act 2009. However, if your termination was planned before the company became a small business, you may still be entitled to one. That may be difficult to prove, and it does seem like the new owner decided to make the changes after he had full control.

There are other factors to consider, including whether your employment contract, enterprise agreement, or modern awards may override the small business exemption and require a redundancy payment. If the redundancy process seemed questionable, you may also have grounds for an unfair dismissal claim. In short, this is a complex area, and you should seek legal advice or speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman to understand whether you have a claim.

I work for the public service, and we have teams who contact employees’ doctors to confirm the validity of medical certificates. Obviously, the medical certificates we provide are not considered valid evidence of illness and are investigated. What recourse do we have in this instance?

Employers verifying medical certificates on a case-by-case basis due to specific concerns is one thing, but if this is happening regularly, it suggests issues with trust, workplace culture, or management practices. A workplace where employees feel their integrity is constantly questioned is not a healthy or productive one. If this scrutiny is widespread, it could be worth raising concerns collectively with colleagues, as it may indicate broader systemic issues within your department.

Usually, medical certificates are considered valid evidence of illness. If you think your employer is contacting doctors regularly to check on the validity of a medical certificate, you can request to understand their reasoning. If you think your employer is trying to find out medical information – beyond the validity of the medical certificate – they may be breaching privacy laws. If you are a member of a union, you can ask them for advice, or you can make a complaint to HR or your department’s privacy officer.

To submit a question about work, careers or leadership, visit kirstinferguson.com/ask. You will not be asked to provide your name or any identifying information. Letters may be edited.