Placing a collection of rubber ducks and a pentagram on a coworker's desk may have been unwise, but it wasn't malicious, the Fair Work Commission has found in unfair dismissal proceedings.
The Federal Court has rejected both the "bland explanation" an employee received for his dismissal and his employer's later argument that he was underperforming, finding instead that he was sacked for exercising a workplace right.
The evidence submitted to back up a misconduct dismissal went no further than "undated letters that made vague references to concerns", which an employer appeared to have accepted "at face value", the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
It was unfair to sack an employee who didn't immediately provide evidence to support her bereavement leave request, the Fair Work Commission has ruled, in chastising an employer for its unreasonable response to a traumatic situation.
An employee sacked for aggressive and threatening conduct has won reinstatement, after the Fair Work Commission found his employer failed to consider his challenging personal circumstances before dismissing him.
When a manager told an employee he wanted to chat to him, but wouldn't "hold a gun" to his head, it was clearly not a threat to his safety, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in a constructive dismissal dispute.
An employee's racist comments during a site-wide meeting warranted dismissal, but his employer's failure to notify him of its reasons before deciding to sack him was unfair, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A chief people officer irritated by a manager's redeployment negotiations made a "snap decision" to make his role redundant, in breach of his general protections, the Federal Court has found.
Even though an employer didn't proactively seek medical information about an absent employee, it wasn't unfair to dismiss him on the basis of incapacity, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
After already receiving a final warning and being placed on a performance improvement plan, an employee's failure to complete a crucial task made his dismissal valid and fair, according to the Fair Work Commission.
Costly legal disputes continue to highlight the many risks employers face when managing, disciplining, or dismissing employees while they are absent, injured or incapacitated. Attend this webinar for an up-to-date review of the legal framework applying to workplace absenteeism, injury and incapacity, and lessons from recent case law.
