Engaging an external contractor didn't undermine an employer's genuine redundancy defence to an unfair dismissal claim, the Fair Work Commission has found, rejecting there were any signs of a "sham".
Ernst & Young has defended terminating a senior partner who was charged with assault after hours spent drinking with staff and clients, on the basis his conduct was likely to harm the firm's interests.
One of the biggest lessons so far from the Fair Work Commission's arbitration of flexible work disputes is that employers must engage in meaningful dialogue with workers who are seeking new arrangements, a lawyer says.
An employee has been chastised for "grasping at excuses for his unacceptable conduct", with the Fair Work Commission accepting he posed a "serious and imminent risk" to workplace health and safety and was fairly sacked.
Mischaracterising a performance issue as misconduct is a common mistake that can significantly undermine an employer's defence of unfair dismissal claims, a lawyer says.
Frustration with an employee who acted unprofessionally should not have coloured an employer's perception of whether her "disrespectful" comments amounted to a resignation, the Fair Work Commission has found.
Relying on complaints from seven years ago was "misconceived", the Fair Work Commission has ruled, in finding a worker accused of sexual misconduct should be reinstated.
The reverse onus of proof in adverse action cases shouldn't be a "free kick" for employees to name numerous decision-makers without properly identifying their role in alleged contraventions, an employer has argued.
Enterprise bargaining reforms have added a great deal of uncertainty to the negotiating process, because the prospect of an intractable bargaining determination makes it less likely that either side will end up with the outcomes it wants, according to an employment lawyer.
Private workplace messages may well have been "venting", but in body-shaming a manager and encouraging gendered violence they were also inappropriate and warranted discipline, a commission has ruled.
Workplace bullying complaints continue to pose significant challenges for employers, including where the behaviour doesn't meet the legal definition of bullying or the threshold to make a claim. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast to understand key lessons from cases where bullying complaints interact with other claims and issues.
What constitutes "best practice" when managing neurodiversity at work is evolving all the time. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast to learn how to embed neuroinclusive practices into HR programs and every stage of the employment lifecycle.
