Performance conversations that weren't as "overt" as they could have been contributed to an employee's confusion regarding the reasons for her dismissal, but her employer's decision wasn't unlawful, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A reinstatement order for a long-serving employee who was sacked for breaching a workplace D&A policy has been upheld, after a Fair Work Commission full bench found the decision wasn't "unreasonable or plainly unjust".
Taking action to improve psychosocial safety after an incident can "come back and bite" an employer, a workplace lawyer warns, amid heightened regulator activity.
It's time for employers to move beyond the risk assessments that have worked well for physical safety hazards and consider a broader range of factors when looking at psychosocial safety, experts say.
Implementing a support plan, holding frequent meetings and providing performance feedback from multiple people were all reasonable actions, a commission has ruled in a dispute over liability for an employee's psychological injury.
An employer has failed to prove that it didn't dismiss a worker when it repeatedly refused her requests for part-time work after a period of parental leave.
It was retaliatory and "cold-hearted" of an HR manager to ask an absent employee to attend meetings, and to repeatedly deny his requests for annual leave after his sick leave ran out, the Federal Circuit Court has found in upholding his adverse action claim.
The National Psychosocial Safety Network, HR Crowd and Diversity Council Australia are among the many organisations appointing specialists in HR-related roles recently. Meanwhile, employment law firms have also been busy promoting and recruiting staff.
Despite taking on more strategic responsibility, some HR teams are doing themselves a disservice by stepping in to "fix" issues that other leaders could solve, according to a coach.
