The High Court has begun hearing an appeal over how much personal leave employees working non-standard shifts are entitled to. Also in this article: a roundup of dismissal rulings and JobKeeper disputes; extensions to COVID-19 award changes; and more.
Two employers have failed to convince a Federal Court full bench that employees weren't entitled to redundancy pay because their dismissals were due to "ordinary" turnover of labour following a contract loss.
A "model employee" who claimed overtime for hours he didn't work has failed to convince the Fair Work Commission his dismissal was unfair because he was "balancing" hours owed to him.
The High Court has updated and publicised its s-xual harassment policies in the wake of findings against a former judge. Also in this article, Western Australia's new IR bill; an employee retrenched at the height of COVID-19 who saw her employer advertising jobs weeks later can claim unfair dismissal; and more.
Recent rulings and a lack of case law consensus show how difficult it can be to manage performance-related dismissals that also involve factors such as mental illness, says an employment lawyer.
An employer did not have an "unfettered right" to sack an employee for performance issues simply because she was still on probation, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
The Fair Work Commission has found an employer fabricated evidence to defend an unfair dismissal claim from an employee whose role was made redundant just days after a positive performance meeting.
An employer whose warning letters to an underperforming employee were so positive that she claimed to have been unaware her employment was at stake has successfully defended an unfair dismissal claim.
A senior employee's disappointment over being excluded from a recruitment panel was the driving force behind his subsequent misconduct, but couldn't excuse it, a commission has found.
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.
