A disgruntled, sacked employee received more than he bargained for when he took his dismissal to the Fair Work Commission.
The employee’s claims of harassment, intimidation and bullying at the hands of his employer failed to impress the FWC, especially when the tribunal heard details of the employee’s insubordinate and abusive conduct towards management.
Read on to find out what the employee did and what the FWC said about it – including the employee’s use of the c-word.
A recent unfair dismissal decision of the FWC has yet again highlighted the importance of following a proper procedure when conducting a HR investigation into employee misconduct.
Despite serious improper behaviour being committed by the employee in question, the HR Manager’s manner of conducting the investigation didn’t fare well before the FWC.
The FWC has unleashed a scathing attack on this employer’s HR department for leaving two inexperienced employees in charge of a workplace investigation that resulted in the summary dismissal of an abusive employee who had physical contact with a co-worker.
Despite having a valid reason for the fighting employee’s dismissal, a range of additional circumstances made the summary dismissal ultimately unfair.
The moral of this story is that an employer must not forget fair procedural requirements, even when a dismissal appears more than justified.
An employer has successfully defended a claim of workplace bullying by relying on the reasonable management action defence.
With more workplace bullying decisions coming through from the Fair Work Commission, employers are receiving much needed practical guidance about the operation of the new bullying laws and when their management actions will be considered reasonable.
