Three workers who spent time congregating and socialising when they should have been working were unfairly dismissed, a commission has found in laying some of the blame with management.
A raft of new tribunal decisions are instructive for employers on how to manage bullying complaints and handle disciplinary action following employee misconduct.
The Fair Work Commission has rejected the findings of an HR manager's misconduct investigation after hearing she failed to interview key witnesses, including the accused employee.
An unfair dismissal decision highlights that in some circumstances it will be fair for an employer to sack a worker for serious out-of-hours misconduct that has no connection to work, an employment lawyer says.
Workplace misconduct and bullying investigations involve the same processes and principles, but the "strict liability" applying to the latter imposes additional, more onerous considerations, according to an investigations expert.
An employer must pay a worker $110k in damages, after an appeal court found the terms of his contract required more than an "opinion" of wrongdoing to justify his dismissal.
The Fair Work Commission has criticised an employer's investigation and subsequent dismissal of a worker for misconduct, saying its HR manager should have ensured a proper process was followed in its show-cause meeting.
In a webinar on 12 May, learn when it is appropriate to investigate bullying allegations, and how to avoid conflicts of interest. Premium members should click through to request a complimentary pass, while free subscribers can upgrade their membership level here for access or register as a casual attendee.
In a case the Fair Work Commission found "disturbing on a number of levels", an employee whose supervisory practices constituted bullying and harassment has failed in her unfair dismissal claim.
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.
