Compliance & case law | Page 136 (2,488 items)

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.

Employees should be on notice that their "social" behaviour will attract greater scrutiny and face higher standards than in the past, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in upholding a dismissal for harassment.

It was "impossible to conclude" that a worker was a contractor rather than an employee, the High Court has found in one of two rulings with important ramifications for all employers.

A 60-year-old employee who deprived herself of water to avoid taking toilet breaks was "her own worst enemy", the Fair Work Commission has found in rejecting she was bullied.

An employer "undertook a degree of crystal ball gazing" when it sacked a worker based on the view it was "only a matter of time" before his mouthy behaviour became "actual violence", the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

An employee who refused to receive a flu vaccination and raised objections about breathing his own "expired breath" when wearing a mask has lost his unfair dismissal claim.

An employee made a "conscious decision" to perform his safety-critical role despite taking drugs a few days earlier, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in upholding his dismissal.

An employee who allegedly made inappropriate comments to a member of the public and touched her hair has failed to prove her accusations were so vague as to render his dismissal unfair.

It was "easy" to see why an employee believed she had been targeted for disciplinary action, but she was ultimately the "author of her own misfortunes", a court has found in rejecting her adverse action claim.

Reactivating a finalised harassment complaint against an employee may well be substantively unfair, but it wasn't procedurally unfair according to an employer's enterprise agreement, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.