Discussions of a s-xual nature "have no place at work", the Fair Work Commission has ruled in finding an employee was fairly sacked for asking a colleague at work if she'd had an abortion.
Many employees willingly work long hours, but even if no one's complaining, employers should monitor extra hours to ensure they are reasonable, a lawyer warns.
An employer that moved a full-time employee to a part-time role to reduce its workers' compensation costs has been ordered to pay more than $470k in damages and fines.
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.
An employer has to reinstate a worker who described its customers online as "spastics and junkies", after the Fair Work Commission found dismissal was a disproportionate response to his misconduct.
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.
An employee who was sacked for refusing to perform aspects of a role he'd been redeployed to has won reinstatement to a different position, with the Fair Work Commission finding he was "simply the wrong person for the job".
An employee who was unfairly sacked for failing to attend a medical exam was not entitled to reinstatement, because his "bombardment" of emails to HR destroyed the employment relationship, the Fair Work Commission has found.
A CEO's redundancy payment has been slashed by $2.5m after an appeal court found he forfeited it by failing to sign a deed of release, while another executive who was originally denied a severance payment has been awarded $375,000.
An employee whose colleague allegedly broke into her home and fell asleep drunk and naked has failed to convince a tribunal that her employer should have done more to prevent his behaviour.
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.
