The High Court has this morning handed down an important decision that unsettles traditional thinking about the scope of employers' redeployment obligations during workplace restructures.
A "very poor" attendance rate combined with repeatedly failing to notify or explain absences meant there were valid reasons to sack an employee, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A paid agent who acted unreasonably while representing a worker in unfair dismissal proceedings must pay an employer nearly $29k, after a Fair Work Commission bench denied his appeal against the costs order.
Sacking an employee for acting aggressively towards a woman wasn't evidence of a "corporate culture that favoured females over males", a full bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
The "optics" would be poor if an employer retained a senior employee who was convicted of domestic violence, a commission has found in rejecting his unfair dismissal appeal.
It was reasonable not to allow an employee whose ego was "dazzled" by other job offers to rescind his resignation, the Fair Work Commission has found, rejecting that the employer's conduct constituted a dismissal.
Losing a job held for nearly 30 years was likely to have an "extremely significant effect" on an employee, but she was "given every opportunity to avoid that outcome", according to the Fair Work Commission.
Evidence that an HRBP actively tried to help resolve an employee's issues with a colleague's behaviour has helped an employer defend a constructive dismissal claim.
"Knowingly and repeatedly" flouting directions not to catch up on work after hours amounted to serious misconduct, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in rejecting an employee's unfair dismissal claim.
"Expedition and informality" are desirable in industrial relations litigation, but when it comes to termination settlements, "there can be no substitute for clearly recorded written terms of agreement", a commission has highlighted.
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.
