An employer was trying to protect staff from bullying and harassment when it sacked an employee, but its actions were ultimately a good example of how not to handle workplace complaints, the Fair Work Commission has found.
To ignore and isolate a colleague at work "is to dehumanise that person", the Fair Work Commission has said in finding two employees were fairly sacked for bullying.
Procedural flaws have brought down an employer's unfair dismissal defence, with the Fair Work Commission finding they outweighed an employee's divisive, defiant, intimidating and bullying behaviour.
An employee who was sacked for being unable to perform her role, despite being willing to attend an independent medical examination, has failed to prove she was unfairly dismissed.
An employer's communication with an employee after an upsetting meeting wasn't "perfect", but it proved she wasn't dismissed, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
An employee sacked for misconduct has won a rehearing of her adverse action claim, with a court accepting her employer might have included workplace complaints among the "behavioural issues" it considered when dismissing her.
An employer was entitled to direct a white-collar employee to undertake a dr-g test after allegations he was slurring and swaying at work, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
An employee has failed to convince a court her employer was involved in organised crime and discriminated against her because she was "white, non-Muslim, female and mature".
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.
