In two new rulings, the Fair Work Commission has shed light on when a casual will be considered to have completed the minimum employment period to gain unfair dismissal rights; and has rejected an Uber driver's claim that he was an employee.
An employee who responded to theft allegations claiming he'd made "a joke", and who called a manager and HR partner "despicable human beings" on social media, has lost his unfair dismissal claim.
A Commissioner has expressed hesitation in reinstating an employee who breached the same rule three times in 12 months, but deemed it the "only" appropriate remedy in the circumstances.
A Federal Court judge has called for employees to be better educated about their rights upon termination, in rejecting a dismissal claim wrongly pursued under general protections laws by a "confused" employee.
Taking a pre-prepared termination letter into a disciplinary meeting is a "classic example" of how employers trip up on procedural fairness when dismissing employees, says a workplace lawyer.
An employee who was dismissed for serious misconduct was not afforded procedural fairness partly because her employer failed to take into account her "quiet and timid" personality, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
The Fair Work Commission has awarded $9000 in compensation to an employee it found was unfairly dismissed after an aggressive altercation with a co-worker.
An employer that claimed it warned an employee about his conduct on multiple occasions before dismissing him, has undermined its reliance on a zero-tolerance policy to support its actions, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
The Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application by three employees for "oppressive" interim stop-bullying orders. Also in this article, an employee loses her constructive dismissal appeal; an employer wins a dispute over PPL eligibility; and more.
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.