Of all the headlines Myer was hoping for in the wake of the second round of stimulus payments, “Myer drops grandmother because she can't squat” (Australian Associated Press) was probably not one of them.

Even with the ‘cash hand-out we had to have’ the retail sector is taking a hit. Myer Chief Executive Bernie Brooks recently confirmed that Myer expects to see a drop in sales for the third quarter, albeit a smaller one than originally forecast. The last thing the retailer needs at this juncture is bad PR.

So it seems like a strange time to start harassing grannies about their squatting prowess, or lack thereof.

Who hasn’t heard about Myer’s GrannyGate? Mrs Patricia Pitfield, long term, permanent Myer employee, was sent home from work in January after producing a doctor’s certificate exempting her from squatting as a result of a non work related knee reconstruction. Three weeks later – following conciliation during which Myer agreed to re-employ her – she returned to work, only to be put through what she described as a degrading assessment by HR staff who required her to perform a full, straight-backed squat and climb stairs with no handrail. When she failed at these tasks she was sent home and her hours reduced to zero, despite achieving a perfect score on a safe work practices test completed during the same assessment.

Mrs Pitfield, technically still a Myer employee, now has no income, no access to the workers’ comp system, no recourse to unfair dismissal legislation and little prospect of returning to work.

“As any employer would tell you, if there’s any danger of hurting her further, then we’re putting ourselves, and more importantly Patricia, in a very difficult situation,” Myer spokesperson Mitch Catlin told the Today program.   

Like all good spokespersons Mitch came out spinning – and undoubtedly there’s some truth in his spin – but unfortunately for Myer what may have seemed like clever business practice and sound OHS in the meeting room starts to seem unpleasantly Machiavellian when Granny Pitfield wins the ear of the public.

According to the United Services Union, Myer reps recently claimed in a meeting that, especially during these tough economic times, Myer has no obligation to provide suitable duties for workers with physical constraints, so it seems likely that recessionary pressures have contributed to the situation.

This might have happened in a number of ways. A retailer faced with shrinking sales has to cut costs somewhere, most likely by reducing casual hours, which might mean that permanent employees are forced into shifts they don’t want to work, for example over the weekend. This kind of change is rarely popular and can have a major impact on morale and goodwill with a run on effect to lost time and claims patterns. All of a sudden, ongoing health problems which had presented no barrier to work might begin to influence when and how employees are available.

Employers with many staff on modified duties can really struggle to find suitable tasks for these employees to perform. OHS and RTW staff must also contend with the possibility that a non-work injury can become aggravated by work, making the organisation liable for some of the harm.

If combined with pressure on middle management to increase productivity (by, for example, cutting back the hours of less productive workers), the result might be an adversarial relationship between staff and management: the kind of relationship that finds its voice on talkback radio, the morning news and at water coolers around the country. Such talk isn’t always well informed but it matters, particularly to a consumer retailer like Myer.

Many of the problems discussed above arise from the distinction Australian jurisdictions make between work-related and non work-related health conditions. Myer treated Mrs Pitfield as they did in part because her back and knee problems were non-compensable, and the system encouraged them to make this distinction. The health and morale outcomes for Mrs Pitfield have been poor and Myer hasn’t emerged unscathed either.

When a story emerges about a cash-strapped granny humiliated for trying to do her job, it’s only to be expected that her employer emerges as the villain of the story – and whatever the facts of the case, that’s how it has played out in the public domain. Sorry, Myer, but return to work relationships matter. Maybe next time a partial squat will pass muster?