A "little bit" of swearing towards a director was "nothing serious", but when the behaviour escalated to verbal and physical abuse it became unreasonable, a tribunal has found in a psych injury appeal.
An employer's immediate and "considerate" response to an employee's workload complaints didn't mitigate the fact it asked "too much" of her over an extended period, making it liable for her psychological injury.
The fact an employee was more susceptible to an aggravation of psychological injuries didn't automatically mean that his employment was a significant contributing factor, the Federal Court has ruled.
It was not just "clumsy or unprofessional" but also unreasonable to suspend an employee "out of the blue", a tribunal has found in awarding compensation for a psychological injury.
A long-term underperforming employee has won a psych injury appeal, arguing the performance management process she was on for more than three years lacked clear expectations and timeframes.
The issues that triggered an employee's performance management should have instead prompted "proactive and practical training", a tribunal has found in awarding compensation for a psych injury.
Counselling by a colleague who took issue with an employee's "rudeness" was not reasonable management action that could exempt an employer's liability for a psychological injury, a tribunal has ruled.
Communication between managers and employees can sometimes be "wrongheaded or unfair" without amounting to bullying, a court has ruled in rejecting a psych injury appeal.
An employer's duty of care is personal to each individual employee, but its response to a foreseeable psych injury risk must be capable of extending to any employee, a court has ruled in a psych injury appeal.
An employer that admitted its attempt to sack an absent worker was a "mistake" and tried to take it back does not have to pay compensation for unfairly dismissing her.
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.
