Engaging an external contractor didn't undermine an employer's genuine redundancy defence to an unfair dismissal claim, the Fair Work Commission has found, rejecting there were any signs of a "sham".
Ernst & Young has defended terminating a senior partner who was charged with assault after hours spent drinking with staff and clients, on the basis his conduct was likely to harm the firm's interests.
One of the biggest lessons so far from the Fair Work Commission's arbitration of flexible work disputes is that employers must engage in meaningful dialogue with workers who are seeking new arrangements, a lawyer says.
An employee has been chastised for "grasping at excuses for his unacceptable conduct", with the Fair Work Commission accepting he posed a "serious and imminent risk" to workplace health and safety and was fairly sacked.
Frustration with an employee who acted unprofessionally should not have coloured an employer's perception of whether her "disrespectful" comments amounted to a resignation, the Fair Work Commission has found.
Relying on complaints from seven years ago was "misconceived", the Fair Work Commission has ruled, in finding a worker accused of sexual misconduct should be reinstated.
Employers need strong policies and programs for psychosocial risk management, but to move from "talking the talk", to "walking the walk", they also need to improve their support for line managers, a workplace psychologist says.
The reverse onus of proof in adverse action cases shouldn't be a "free kick" for employees to name numerous decision-makers without properly identifying their role in alleged contraventions, an employer has argued.
Employers can't force their leaders to get more sleep, but they can educate them about a simple formula that makes a big difference, according to an executive coach.
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.
Costly legal disputes continue to highlight the many risks employers face when managing, disciplining, or dismissing employees while they are absent, injured or incapacitated. Attend this webinar for an up-to-date review of the legal framework applying to workplace absenteeism, injury and incapacity, and lessons from recent case law.
