After shoving a woman out of a lift on his way to work because he thought she was "rude", an employee has failed to convince the Fair Work Commission he was unfairly sacked.
A recent decision serves as an important reminder that termination entitlements must be paid on an employee's last day, and not in an employer's next pay cycle, lawyers warn.
The context of "humorous" communications between employees who were friends outside of work was crucial in determining whether some comments were unlawful discrimination, the Federal Circuit Court has noted.
A court has awarded an employer $270k in damages after two of its employees left to establish their own business, in breach of their 12-month contractual restraints.
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.
Workplace bullying complaints continue to pose significant challenges for employers, including where the behaviour doesn't meet the legal definition of bullying or the threshold to make a claim. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast to understand key lessons from cases where bullying complaints interact with other claims and issues.
What constitutes "best practice" when managing neurodiversity at work is evolving all the time. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast to learn how to embed neuroinclusive practices into HR programs and every stage of the employment lifecycle.