The Fair Work Commission has considered in detail what constitutes sexual harassment, and what doesn't, in upholding the dismissal of an employee who denied his messages about "love" and requests for a date had any sexual element.
Disputes so far about the application of fixed-term contract limits haven't yet resolved all the grey areas in the legislation, a workplace lawyer says.
It was unreasonable to inform an employee who had just raised a bullying grievance that his previous allegations weren't substantiated, a commission has ruled in a psychological injury dispute.
Accommodating an employee's request to work a "somewhat restrictive" roster would likely lead to perceptions of unfairness and cause workplace tension, the Fair Work Commission has accepted in a flexible work dispute.
The "destabilising" effect an employee had on the workplace was the reason for her termination, and not the bullying complaint she filed just before it, the Federal Circuit Court has ruled in rejecting her adverse action claim.
The importance of complying with a direction didn't justify the "obstinate rejection" of an employee's explanations for not doing so, the Fair Work Commission has found in ordering her reinstatement.
Advertising for new roles didn't undermine an employer's genuine redundancy defence to a people and culture officer's unfair dismissal claim, the Fair Work Commission has found, in rejecting that any of those positions were suitable for her redeployment.
The Fair Work Commission has cleared an employee to pursue a general protections dismissal claim against her employer, after it said she'd need to earn the respect of new staff through a "staged" return from parental leave before she could resume her previous HR duties.
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.
