Genuine concerns about an employee's mental health warranted directing her to undergo an independent medical examination, and her repeated failure to attend provided a lawful and valid reason for her dismissal, a tribunal has ruled.
Swearing might have been part of an employer's "everyday work culture", but a director's aggressive and confrontational language was unacceptable, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in a constructive dismissal dispute.
Allegations that prompted the sacking of a complaining employee were "based on flimsy foundations" and caused her mental harm, the Federal Court has ruled in awarding her $382k in compensation and penalties.
"Any reasonable adult worker" should understand that using offensive language to describe a CEO and other employees constitutes misconduct, a tribunal has noted in dismissing a sacked employee's application for reinstatement.
The involvement of dedicated HR specialists had an "adverse" impact on the procedures an employer followed when sacking a worker, and warranted an order for maximum compensation, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A medical opinion stating it was "possible" that a disciplinary meeting "may have had an impact" on an employee's psychological condition did not come close to clearing her employer of liability for the injury, a tribunal has found.
Despite concerns about her "seriously disrespectful" conduct, an employer has lost a dispute about converting an employee to a permanent role, with the Fair Work Commission finding it backed out of "unequivocal" commitments.
It was "fanciful" for an HR professional to defend forwarding confidential work information to his personal email, according to the Fair Work Commission, rejecting that his dismissal "did not fit the crime".
A disciplinary meeting was not the main cause of an employee's psychological injury, but it was the final straw for him after a year of workplace hazing and bullying, a commission has found.
A court has granted interim orders restraining a senior manager from soliciting his former employer's clients and staff to join a competitor, after accepting evidence that the business might otherwise lose millions of dollars in revenue.
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.
