A Fair Work Commission Deputy President was wrong to state that an employer had to demonstrate a risk of impairment when dismissing a worker who failed a dr-g test, but this didn't affect his overall finding that the sacking was harsh, a full bench has ruled.
A full bench of the Fair Work Commission has set out some minimum requirements for a workplace D&A policy to be considered "intelligible" to the relevant employees, in dismissing an employer's reinstatement appeal.
"Simple life experience" should have taught an employee not to bully and humiliate his co-worker, according to the Fair Work Commission, but a lack of evidence that he was trained in workplace policies meant his dismissal was harsh.
Employers continue to face shifting boundaries regarding their ability to address misconduct that occurs outside the workplace or normal working hours. Watch this webcast for an update on recent case law and best practices.
The ABC's employee complaints process is "not straightforward" and lacking in follow-up, to the extent that calls into question its ability to ensure a safe workplace, a review has found.
Traditional HR approaches to managing bullying risks are "simply not keeping up with the complexity of the modern-day workplace bully", according to a workplace relations expert.
An employee's failure to declare medication he was taking for mental health issues denied his employer the opportunity to assess whether it posed any workplace risks, the Fair Work Commission has found in upholding his dismissal.
Summarily dismissing a worker for evading a drug test was warranted, despite his claims he had "defecated in his pants" and needed to rush home, according to the Fair Work Commission.
The Fair Work Commission has rejected that reinstating an employee would make others think they could "get away" with breaching workplace policies; rather, it said this case would clarify the employer's rules around acceptable behaviour.
The employees who right-to-disconnect laws aim to help might be those least likely to benefit, according to a workplace lawyer who is concerned the entitlement will be exploited.
General protections claims are the fastest-growing category of applications in the Fair Work Commission, with reforms now underway to stem the tide. This webinar will discuss important developments in both procedural issues and case law.
