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An employee's paid agent, who threatened not to participate in conciliation if his offer to settle an unfair dismissal claim wasn't accepted, will potentially have to pay nearly $29k as a result of his unreasonable actions.

HR Experts principal Michael Alkan described himself as having been a lay advocate in industrial relations, who didn't have the formal education of a lawyer but learned his skills in "the school of hard knocks", said Fair Work Commission Deputy President Tony Slevin.

But, citing last year's full bench ruling of Howell v Elite Elevators (reported by HR Daily here), the Deputy President said the Commission couldn't allow paid agents to conduct themselves in a manner that was significantly inconsistent with the applicable professional obligations of lawyers in equivalent circumstances...