Employers should be on notice that restraint of trade disputes are likely to rise this year, with a lawyer warning that exiting employees need firm reminders about their post-employment obligations.
Employers are taking far too long to complete bullying investigations, and their lack of a systematic approach is eroding employees' confidence and exacerbating workplace culture issues, a specialist says.
An employer has failed to convince a tribunal that it should not be held liable for an employee's psychological injury claim because medical evidence showed she was a "heavy drinker".
The accusations against IR Minister Christian Porter highlight a raft of complex considerations for employers around handling s-xual assault allegations, along with the need for urgent action on last year's harassment recommendations.
An employee who says he joked about making a fraudulent compensation claim but had no intention of following through was unfairly dismissed, the Fair Work Commission has found, rebuking his employer for using a hasty investigation and flimsy evidence to bolster a "highly speculative" allegation.
An "unusual" unfair dismissal case highlights the potential risks employers face when trying to comply with strict whistleblowing laws and procedural fairness requirements during disciplinary matters, a workplace lawyer says.
Employers are receiving mixed messages about their COVID-19 vaccination rights, which could end up in a common law "battle", lawyers say. Also in this article, why proper HR is the solution to Parliament's s-xual harassment issue.
An employee who was "clearly" aggrieved by how her employer handled her post-injury return to work has failed to prove her redundancy was a "sham" to replace her.
A long-serving employee's dismissal for one instance of misconduct should reinforce to workers that complying with policies "is not optional" and ignoring them can have serious consequences.
An employer's disciplinary approach wasn't "punitive" and unsympathetic; rather it tolerated an employee's inappropriate behaviour for years out of a misplaced "sense of compassion", the Fair Work Commission has found in rejecting a dismissal claim.
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.
