Poor behaviour at work that falls short of misconduct can be the most difficult to manage, but too often employers turn a blind eye, a workplace lawyer warns.
An employer's procedural errors weren't so great as to make a manager's dismissal for drinking while at work unfair, the Fair Work Commission has ruled. Meanwhile, an employee's mass email speculating about job cuts justified his sacking, while another's abusive response to an "overly keen" supervisor also warranted termination.
An employer was wrong to sack a manager without warning after his team delivered a JK Rowling book a day early, the Fair Work Commission has found, awarding him $50k in compensation.
An employer that made generalised accusations against an employee, despite having video footage of her alleged misconduct, practised a "form of entrapment", the Fair Work Commission has found in ordering her reinstatement.
An employee who claimed his new team leader micromanaged and bullied him has had his stop-bullying application rejected, after the Fair Work Commission found her behaviour "abrupt" but not repeated or unreasonable.
Evidence of a worker's serious misconduct, no matter how strong, is no guarantee an on-the-spot dismissal will be considered fair in court, according to a lawyer.
Misapprehensions abound about summary dismissals and continue to trip up even the most vigilant employers. Watch this webcast to understand why employees can never be dismissed "on the spot", how to ensure workplace policies support disciplinary action, and more.
The Fair Work Commission has found it was harsh to sack an employee who claimed work incidents caused him to fail a random blood-alcohol test. Meanwhile, an employer criticised for massive procedural fairness failings is appealing an unfair dismissal ruling; a third state is introducing labour hire licensing; and more.
The fact it took an employer two weeks to sack an employee for a confidentiality breach indicated summary dismissal wasn't a reasonable response to his misconduct, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
The Fair Work Commission has condemned an employer for its "gross denial of natural justice" after it summarily dismissed an employee whose ex-wife claimed he was stealing from the company.
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.
