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There were "sensible" alternatives available to an employer that chose to sack an absent employee for refusing to retire on grounds of ill health, a commission has ruled.

Based on the information it had at the time, directing the employee to retire wasn't "legally reasonable", so the employer couldn't discipline her for disobeying a lawful order, Western Australian Industrial Relations Senior Commissioner Rachel Cosentino found.

The WA Police senior solicitor had been certified unfit for duties since December 2023, due to a work-related psychological injury.

The employer approved her absence up until August last year, when it notified her of its ongoing difficulty in finding suitable temporary replacements for her role, and invited her to submit medical evidence about a potential return-to-work date...