Bosses are allowed to sack workers who become disabled due to a workplace injury and can no longer do their jobs, a court has ruled. It was legal for Qantas to dismiss a baggage handler who could not do the job he was originally hired to do, even though he injured his shoulder carrying a heavy bag on to an aircraft, the Full Bench of the Federal Court said in its judgement. The handler, Silvano Cosma, argued the sacking amounted to discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act. But the full bench of the court, hearing Mr Cosma's appeal against an earlier judgement, agreed with the original verdict that Qantas was entitled to use "lawful discrimination" to sack Mr Cosma. The court also said the airline should not have to suffer "unjustifiable hardship" by modifying the workplace to help Mr Cosma continue in his job. Mr Cosma, who worked at Melbourne Airport, was dismissed by the airline in July 1997 after joining it nine years earlier when he was 31. He injured his shoulder carrying a heavy bag in September 1991 and had surgery in April the next year. For the next five years he was given a variety of temporary positions at Qantas, including clerical and administrative jobs, but was never able to return to baggage handling. Mr Cosma, who now has a casual job as a security officer, was sacked after Qantas told him there were no appropriate permanent redeployment opportunities available. He told the court that the sacking left him humiliated, lacking self-confidence and he had become withdrawn. With agreement from the airline, however, the court did award Mr Cosman $185,000 in compensation for lost wages and general damages. An industrial law expert told The Sun-Herald that all workers needed to be aware of the ability of employers to dismiss employees prevented from doing their job by injury. Kathryn Dent, a partner at Gadens law firm in Sydney, said the court had to undertake a delicate balancing act between the employer's right to conduct its business versus the employee's right to work regardless of disability. Source Sydney Morning Herald - 1 March 2003 ###