Rushing a sexual harassment investigation to meet a business deadline denied an employee procedural fairness, a Fair Work Commissioner has found, while accepting that his behaviour was "totally unacceptable" and the end result would have been the same.
Best-practice workplace investigations are now conducted with far more sensitivity, but it's crucial not to lose sight of what's required from a legal perspective, an employment lawyer says.
Workplace investigations continue to challenge employers in new ways, requiring sensitivity within the legal framework of natural justice and procedural fairness. Watch this webcast to ensure your organisation's practices are up to date.
Among the standards employers must meet to satisfy their positive duty to prevent workplace harassment, "leadership" is the most important, according to former Federal S-x Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
A senior employee should have known that his occasional rudeness might impact a colleague, but his behaviour didn't rise to the level of bullying, a court has ruled in awarding him $368k for wrongful dismissal.
An employee, who alleged managers bullied her during a performance management process, has failed to secure interim orders blocking her dismissal until the conclusion of her stop-bullying claim.
The Fair Work Commission has declined to make orders to stop sexual harassment, after the respondent to the application expressed remorse for his action. Meanwhile a conflict specialist is calling for employers to go beyond policies and documentation, and call out poor behaviour more often.
For too long, leaders have treated misbehaviour and misconduct as separate to performance issues at work, but "the world is waking up", a communication specialist says.
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.
