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.
Discussing a polyamorous lifestyle wasn't in itself a valid reason to sack an employee, however his conversations went beyond that, the Fair Work Commission has noted in upholding his dismissal.
The Fair Work Commission has stayed the reinstatement of an employee whose dismissal was unfair, while downplaying the employer's concerns about his potential impact on others in the workplace.
A stop-bullying order requiring mediation between an employee and his manager will stand, after the employer failed to persuade the Fair Work Commission to hear its appeal.
Aggressive and intimidating behaviour was not a valid response to performance management, the Fair Work Commission has found, ruling that the employee's conduct was detrimental to the wellbeing and safety of his colleagues and justified his dismissal.
An HR business partner "selectively" used information from a covert recording to bolster serious misconduct allegations against an employee, the Fair Work Commission has found in unfair dismissal proceedings.
Attempting to recast racially offensive language as a "linguistic misunderstanding" doesn't negate its effect on colleagues and the workplace, the Fair Work Commission has noted in upholding an employee's dismissal.
An employee who breached a workplace policy, ignored a direction and then unilaterally left a disciplinary meeting was unfairly dismissed, the Fair Work Commission has found.
Confrontational behaviour that prompted an employee's dismissal was not a "one-off incident", the Fair Work Commission has found, in ruling that his history of disruptive and challenging conduct rendered the decision fair.
When a senior leader at the ABC sacked an employee who expressed a political view on social media, he disregarded warnings that it "would be worth looping in P&C" to ensure the employer's established disciplinary process was followed, the Federal Court has noted in ordering pecuniary penalties.
All employers should consider putting in place a workplace s-xual harassment prevention plan, even though such plans are only expressly prescribed in one jurisdiction, according to a risk management expert.
Recent events have shone a spotlight on whistleblowing, placing employers firmly on notice that their response to a protected disclosure could be subject to intense scrutiny. Watch this webcast to understand the role HR plays in this challenging space.
