It wasn't unreasonable or unjust to find a long-serving employee's "sheer number of absences" weighed in favour of his dismissal being valid, a Fair Work Commission full bench has ruled.
When social media posts caused an employer to doubt the validity of an employee's personal leave, it was entitled to seek further information, a commission has ruled in discrimination proceedings.
Failing to give an employee even a "brief opportunity" to provide evidence of her current and future fitness for work made her dismissal unfair, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
It was fair to sack an employee for misusing his personal leave entitlement, the Fair Work Commission has found, in giving no weight to the medical certificate he obtained through an online service.
An employee's attempts to delay a final decision about her dismissal by refusing to sign medical authorisations "resulted in the opposite of its desired effect", the Fair Work Commission has found in unfair dismissal proceedings.
A Fair Work Commission member was wrong to dismiss a stop-bullying application based on the assumption that an employee who was absent and unfit for duties faced no continuing risk of bullying, a full bench has ruled.
In upholding an employee's appeal, a full bench of the Fair Work Commission has declined to determine whether someone can be considered "at work" and at risk of bullying while they're unfit for duties.
Costly legal disputes continue to highlight the many risks employers face when managing, disciplining, or dismissing employees while they are absent, injured or incapacitated. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast for an up-to-date review of the legal framework and key rulings.
It would be "much simpler" to consider abandonment of employment as falling within the definition of dismissal under the Fair Work Act, instead of applying the "complicated contractual concept of renunciation", according to a Fair Work Commission member.
All employers should consider putting in place a workplace s-xual harassment prevention plan, even though such plans are only expressly prescribed in one jurisdiction, according to a risk management expert.
Recent events have shone a spotlight on whistleblowing, placing employers firmly on notice that their response to a protected disclosure could be subject to intense scrutiny. Watch this webcast to understand the role HR plays in this challenging space.
