An attempt to block access to mental health records in a dispute about an employee's physical condition has failed, with a Tribunal refusing to "divorce" the two issues.
It was unfair to summarily dismiss an employee who had a "genuine misunderstanding" of what his employer required, regardless of his serious misconduct, according to the Fair Work Commission.
When informing a director she was being investigated for breaching a code of conduct, an employer failed to take into account her experience of family and domestic violence, and its approach caused her to suffer a psychological injury, a tribunal has ruled.
How an employer could claim a casual worker's employment was terminated "professionally", while also contending he wasn't dismissed, was a "mystery", according to the Fair Work Commission.
A worker on a fixed-term contract, who alleged she was "blocked" from completing the qualification she needed to become a permanent employee, was not dismissed and couldn't pursue an adverse action claim, a Fair Work Commission full bench has found.
A 64-year-old worker, whose employment was terminated the day after he had a severe fall requiring surgery, has been cleared to claim unfair dismissal despite lodging his application late.
The Fair Work Commission has rejected that a supervisor's employment ended by mutual agreement after a heated argument, accepting he was dismissed without a valid reason.
An employer's attempts to avoid dismissing an employee who engaged in serious misconduct at a client site distinguished his case from other rulings involving workers sacked as a result of third-party directions, according to the Fair Work Commission.
A potential inconsistency in an employer's D&A policy did not undermine its dismissal of a worker who had breached it three times, a full bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
Failing to disclose use of medicinal marijuana clearly breached an employer's policy, but the employee didn't act with "malevolence", the Fair Work Commission has ruled in ordering his reinstatement.
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.