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Even if certain negative behaviours were "manifestations" of an employee's autism spectrum disorder, they weren't a substantial and operative reason for her dismissal, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

Rather, several managers believed the employee had knowingly engaged in serious misconduct that warranted dismissal, Commissioner Benjamin Redford found, while adding their assumption about her intentions was "most unfair".

Victoria's Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission dismissed the service desk analyst in January this year, for accessing a colleague's sign-in logs in breach of its code of conduct and workplace policies.

She lodged a general protections dismissal dispute, arguing the real reason she was sacked was because she had made workplace complaints or enquiries, and that her dismissal was "inextricably linked" to her autism spectrum disorder (ASD)...