The High Court has updated and publicised its s-xual harassment policies in the wake of findings against a former judge. Also in this article, Western Australia's new IR bill; an employee retrenched at the height of COVID-19 who saw her employer advertising jobs weeks later can claim unfair dismissal; and more.
Recent rulings and a lack of case law consensus show how difficult it can be to manage performance-related dismissals that also involve factors such as mental illness, says an employment lawyer.
An employer did not have an "unfettered right" to sack an employee for performance issues simply because she was still on probation, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
The Fair Work Commission is handling increasing numbers of redundancy disputes, and this round-up includes a failure to consult, applications to reduce entitlements, and a claim that redundancy was actually adverse action.
The Fair Work Commission has found an employer fabricated evidence to defend an unfair dismissal claim from an employee whose role was made redundant just days after a positive performance meeting.
The ABC is backpaying $12 million plus a $600k contrition payment after underpaying nearly 2,000 employees. Also in this article, ACCC allegations against a workplace advisor; minimum wages rise; and more.
An employer whose warning letters to an underperforming employee were so positive that she claimed to have been unaware her employment was at stake has successfully defended an unfair dismissal claim.
Even when avenues for improvement appear to be exhausted, it's crucial to follow a procedurally fair process when dismissing an employee for poor performance. In this webinar, an employment lawyer shares guiding principles around terminating for underperformance.
A senior employee's disappointment over being excluded from a recruitment panel was the driving force behind his subsequent misconduct, but couldn't excuse it, a commission has found.
Redeployment is the very important "third limb" of the genuine redundancy test and employers need to show they have considered all viable options even in the current climate, says a workplace lawyer.
General protections claims are the fastest-growing category of applications in the Fair Work Commission, with reforms now underway to stem the tide. This webinar will discuss important developments in both procedural issues and case law.
