What constitutes reasonable action in a performance management scenario is illustrated well in a recent Fair Work Commission decision, a workplace lawyer says.
A talent acquisition partner complained an HR team was bullying him to "deflect criticism of his clear underperformance", the Federal Circuit Court has found.
Workplace bullying complaints continue to pose significant challenges for employers, including where the behaviour doesn't meet the legal definition of bullying or the threshold to make a claim. Watch this webcast to understand key lessons from recent court and tribunal decisions.
It was fair to sack a manager who engaged in excessive criticism of staff, to the point of bullying and harassment, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A manager's comments and actions reflected her workplace's "command and control" environment and weren't unreasonable, the Fair Work Commission has found, in refusing to make stop-bullying orders.
An employee's "bizarre" bullying and harassment allegations were not based on "real events", a tribunal has found, in denying her compensation for a psychological injury.
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.
The Fair Work Commission has stressed the importance of adhering to open justice principles in anti-bullying matters, in refusing an appeal filed by an alleged bully who didn't want to be named in published decisions.
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.
