The seven-figure damages award arising from a mishandled termination process serves as an extra reminder for employers to consider the interplay between employment contracts and company policies and procedures, a workplace lawyer says.
A tribunal has upheld an appeal by an employee who sustained a psychological injury after being falsely accused of misconduct, in a ruling that shows employers can't just refer to their third-party contracts when relying on a reasonable action defence.
It "defies belief" that an employer would defend a consultation process as "best practice", when it involved informing a manager of his termination during an impromptu coffee meeting in a busy street, according to a tribunal.
An attempt to block access to mental health records in a dispute about an employee's physical condition has failed, with a Tribunal refusing to "divorce" the two issues.
When informing a director she was being investigated for breaching a code of conduct, an employer failed to take into account her experience of family and domestic violence, and its approach caused her to suffer a psychological injury, a tribunal has ruled.
In finding today that the risk of an employee's psychiatric injury was a "serious possibility" after his botched dismissal process, the High Court has nonetheless determined not to rule on whether employers' duty of care extends to disciplinary and termination events.
The High Court has restored a $1.44 million damages award to an employee who had a "catastrophic" reaction to his misconduct dismissal, with the majority ruling that when the employer didn't follow its disciplinary policy, it breached the worker's contract.
An employee who was "unwilling" to acknowledge the part he played in his ongoing unfitness for work has failed to persuade a full bench of the Fair Work Commission to re-examine a decision that his dismissal was fair.
When it comes to setting boundaries that allow people to disconnect from work, employees tend to think this responsibility lies with their employer, rather than themselves, research suggests.
Failing to let an employee comprehensively respond to performance concerns she considered "unjustified" was unreasonable, a commission has ruled in upholding her psychological injury claim.
