An employer has unsuccessfully tried to block a s-xual harassment dispute, arguing it had no utility because it was lodged by a former employee it would "never" hire again, and who had also filed a claim in the Australian Human Rights Commission.

It was reasonably foreseeable that accommodating an employee's preferred rostering arrangement would prompt similar requests from other workers, potentially causing an employer to suffer "significant" efficiency and productivity losses, the Fair Work Commission has found.

The Fair Work Commission has dismissed an employee's s-xual harassment dispute, confirming it couldn't deal with the matter because at the time of her application her claims in other tribunals hadn't yet failed or been withdrawn.

General protections claims are the fastest-growing category of applications in the Fair Work Commission, with reforms now underway to stem the tide. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast where important developments in both procedural issues and case law are discussed.

An employee made "unparticularised, untrue and potentially defamatory allegations" against her manager in a bid to stop her performance management process, the Federal Circuit Court has found.

Few employers understand the extent to which "childcare disruption" drives unplanned leave in their workforce, leading to a lack of support that also undermines their gender equality efforts, according to an executive with first-hand experience of the problem.

Reducing a casual employee's shifts amounted to a dismissal, and denying her an opportunity to respond to the decision rendered it harsh, unjust and unreasonable, the Fair Work Commission has found.

After initially throwing out his claim, the Fair Work Commission has found a mentally unwell employee was dismissed when his employer accepted his resignation, and that his circumstances made this "unquestionably harsh".

It's difficult for workplaces to help employees experiencing FDV if they don't know what signs to look out for, and some are easy to miss, a support and advocacy specialist says.

An employee has failed to prove criticisms of his performance were "misconceived", with the Fair Work Commission finding his dismissal was fair, even though elements of his performance improvement plan were questionable.