An employer has found out the hard way, the risks associated with failing to protect a worker from systematic workplace bullying and sexual harassment.
Rather than taking a worker’s complaint seriously, the employer failed to address issues which a Court later considered could have been avoided by “relatively simply means”.
When two employees engage in workplace warfare, the employer’s business can become major collateral damage.
A recent unfair dismissal case showcases a clever framework adopted by an employer in an attempt to end a workplace dispute.
As the dispute worsened, one of the workplace disputants even goaded her employer to sack her.
Was the employer being lured into a carefully laid trap?
Did the employer fall for it?
Read on to find out…
A recent Stop Bullying Order by the FWC serves as warning to employers of the broader burden that an order could impose on their workplace and potentially, their management prerogative.
The FWC’s Order not only restricted the workplace interaction between the parties, it went so far as to restrict work attendance times and face-to-face communication.
Read on for our analysis of the FWC’s Order and our tips for preventing it happening to you.
The Fair Work Commission’s annual report has revealed interesting statistics about the bullying claims brought in the first 6 months of the new anti-workplace bullying jurisdiction.
Although some commentators have downplayed the number of bullying claims lodged, the FWC’s General Manager has warned that it is “still too early” to draw conclusions about the Commission’s likely workloads in the workplace bullying jurisdiction.
The risk remains for those employers who write off the bullying jurisdiction as ‘much ado about nothing’.
Read on for our analysis.
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.
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.
