An employer must pay workers' compensation for a psychological injury, even though its former employee didn't show signs of mental ill health while she was working, was facing multiple stressors in her personal life, and lodged her claim outside the required timeframe.
"Anomalies" in an employer's management of performance and conduct issues meant the process lacked clarity and resulted in a dismissal that was valid, but harsh, the Fair Work Commission has found.
Frustrated by his workload, an employee quit "impulsively and under some pressure", but confirming his intentions an hour later meant the employer was entitled to treat his resignation as "unambiguous", the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
Some risk is unavoidable when engaging contingent workers, but certain steps can go a long way towards preventing regulator scrutiny and entitlement claims, a lawyer says.
A performance improvement plan gave an employee "ample" opportunity to demonstrate better workplace communication, but she "missed it by a mile", a commission has ruled in upholding her dismissal.
Requesting medical information about an absent employee was lawful and reasonable under his contract, and his refusal to grant access warranted summary dismissal, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
An employee, who asked to reduce her hours when returning from parental leave, did not effectively resign when she indicated that she wouldn't return to a full-time position, the Fair Work Commission has found.
The Fair Work Commission has shut down a flexible work dispute, finding the employee's evidence of a disability was "not credible", and there was no nexus between his circumstances and his stated need to work from home.
A full bench of the Fair Work Commission has upheld the reinstatement of an employee who was sacked for taking medically prescribed cannabis, despite his employer's appeal on workplace safety grounds.
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.
