The Federal Court has provided some important clarification for employers regarding the whistleblower protection regime. This article also contains this week's news in brief.
An employee who "relentlessly pursued" a subordinate despite her repeated rejections has lost his unfair dismissal claim, with the Fair Work Commission finding his behaviour amounted to serious misconduct.
An employee sacked for making a highly offensive comment about a coworker has lost her unfair dismissal claim, despite arguing she was "simply discussing work colleagues in the company of friends".
The seven-figure damages award arising from a mishandled termination process serves as an extra reminder for employers to consider the interplay between employment contracts and company policies and procedures, a workplace lawyer says.
An employee who was involved in multiple incidents, included two vehicle crashes and a D&A policy breach, was fairly dismissed despite his employer's lack of adherence to its own policy, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
Despite defending an unfair dismissal claim from a worker it had "every right" to sack, an employer has failed to win an order for all of its legal costs.
A deed of release prevented an employee from pursuing a general protections claim in the Fair Work Commission, a full bench has ruled, in refusing to disturb a finding that he signed it willingly.
An employer constructively dismissed an employee after its HR manager failed to investigate her bullying complaints and instead accused her of misconduct, the Fair Work Commission has found.
It was unfair to say an employee "should have known" that his performance was unsatisfactory, when the employer gave him no warnings and failed to follow its own policy before summarily dismissing him, according to the Fair Work Commission.
After complaining about dangerous workplace behaviour, an employee resigned in the heat of the moment, according to the Fair Work Commission, and his employer should have waited to confirm his intentions rather than accept it.
Some employers have successfully stepped up to the task of managing psychosocial safety, but in many other workplaces, initiatives are falling flat. Join us for an HR Daily webinar to understand what's holding back progress in this critical space and how to move forward.
