An employer's defence to an employee's psychological injury claim has been undermined by evidence that he was exhibiting signs of stress before it decided to investigate his work practices.
The consequences of dismissing or mismanaging employees' emotions can be "catastrophic" for organisations, but when leaders recognise and properly handle them, "teams achieve remarkable things", an executive coach says.
After already receiving a final warning and being placed on a performance improvement plan, an employee's failure to complete a crucial task made his dismissal valid and fair, according to the Fair Work Commission.
A novel psychosocial safety prosecution puts employers firmly on notice about their legal obligations and the need to manage risks arising from common processes.
Telling an employee who was seeking an early pay rise not to copy the CEO in on her grievance emails was clearly lawful and reasonable, and breaching this direction warranted her dismissal, the Fair Work Commission has found.
Comments added to an employee's half-yearly review were simply feedback, "not performance management, or any kind of discipline", and therefore couldn't underpin an adverse action claim, the Federal Court has ruled.
An HR business partner's "damning assessment of morale and employee relations" in a senior manager's team was the final straw that prompted his dismissal, the Federal Court has found in redetermining a long-running adverse action case.
An employer has lost its dispute over liability for a psychological injury, with a tribunal accepting workload issues and a lack of support were the cause, rather than stress resulting from the employee's physical health problems.
A sacked employee wasn't "up to the job", according to his employer, and his role was no longer required, but the Fair Work Commission has ruled his dismissal was nonetheless unfair.
