When a manager discussed an employee's pregnancy with her colleagues without her consent she wasn't left with no choice but to resign, the Fair Work Commission has found, in dismissing her general protections claim.
The Fair Work Commission has allowed a general protections dismissal claim to proceed against an organisation, despite it not directly employing the worker who alleges she was sacked at its direction.
The Fair Work Commission will be able to resolve disputes about whether an employee has been dismissed without conducting a hearing, under proposed changes to the Fair Work Act.
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.
General protections breaches "should never be treated as an acceptable risk of doing business", a Federal Circuit Court judge has stressed, in awarding about $90k to "a most difficult and challenging employee".
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.
An employer had decided an employee wasn't suited to his role before he took sick leave, the Federal Circuit Court has accepted, ruling that sacking him the day he returned to work wasn't unlawful adverse action.
When courts are considering who made a decision to dismiss or take other adverse action against an employee, and for what reasons, identifying and interrogating all decision-makers has become a "live issue", a workplace lawyer says.
A full Federal Court ruling affirms there's a low threshold for what triggers the corporate whistleblower regime, and workplace lawyers say it provides "authoritative guidance" on how employers can discharge their reverse onus of proof.
Dismissing an employee because he wouldn't agree to his image or voice being shared on social media, unless he was paid extra for it, amounted to unlawful adverse action, the Federal Circuit Court has ruled.
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.
