Archive Confidentiality, Dismissed, Misconduct
The Fair Work Commission has found that an employee who approached a competitor of his employer and divulged personal information about his current boss and the business was not unfairly dismissed. In the case, the employer and the employee had already agreed in August 2015 that the employee’s employment would cease on 31 December 2015. […]
Archive Swearing, Termination, Workplace Conduct, Workplace Culture
Decisions about swearing in the workplace are often some of the more unpredictable decisions in the Fair Work jurisdiction. In this case, the employer succeeded in defending its decision to dismiss an employee by demonstrating that the employee had previously been warned swearing in the workplace prior to his dismissal. The Fair Work Commission heard […]
Archive Compensation, Confidentiality, Dismissal, Fair Work Commission, FWC, Intellectual Property, Misconduct
To start off 2016, we thought it might be prudent to revisit one of the more significant decisions handed down in 2015 in which a termination for serious misconduct was determined to be unfair, despite there being a valid reason for dismissal. In this case, it was the Commission’s comments about compensation that should be […]
Archive Adverse Action, Dismissal, Termination, WorkCover
An employee who was dismissed for being unable to perform the inherent requirements of her role has failed to establish to the Federal Circuit Court’s satisfaction that the employer dismissed her because she was depressed. Background The employee, who commenced employment with the health services industry employer in 2011, was employed as an on-site Turkish […]
Archive Dismissed, Machinery, Medical Condition, Workplace Hazards
In a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission, an obese employee’s unfair dismissal application was dismissed after the employer established that the employee’s obesity and associated medical conditions meant that the employee could no longer perform the inherent requirements of his role. The employee was stood down following a manual handling hazard and risk […]
Archive FWC, Safety Breach, Speeding, Termination, Train Driver, Unfair Dismissal
A large rail industry employer has been ordered to reinstate a train driver after he was dismissed for what the employer deemed were breaches of safety protocols. The first incident relied upon for the termination was the employee leaving his co-driver behind after she disembarked the locomotive for a toilet break. The co-driver was found […]
Archive Adverse Action, General Protections Claim, Probation Period, Termination, Workplace Culture
An employee has been successful in a general protections claim following his employer’s decision to terminate him inside the employee’s probation period. Prior to the termination, there was a confrontation between the employee and his supervisor about the employee not being present at his desk. The employee subsequently contacted the employer’s HR department about the […]
Archive Compensation, Workplace Injury, Workplace Safety
In a recent case concerning a tanker driver and his application for workers compensation, Justice Bromberg of the Federal Court of Australia rejected the employer’s interpretation of the much discussed ‘motel sex case’. Motel sex case revisited To understand the implication of this recent case, it is necessary to revisit the details of the famed […]
Archive Annual Leave, Employee Entitlements, Termination
A self-confessed tennis tragic has failed in her unfair dismissal application, after her employment was terminated when she attended the Australian Open in January. As the employee had exhausted all her annual leave entitlements as recently as September 2014, she applied for leave from 22 December to 2 January. Paid leave was approved until 31 […]
Archive Company Credit Card, Credit Card Policy, Dismissal, Travel Policy
An employee who claimed a blender, Australia Day t-shirt, boxer shorts and bathmats on his company credit card has had his unfair dismissal claim dismissed after he was summarily dismissed for breach the employer’s policy. The employer had a travel policy that provided that ‘reasonable, necessary and duly documented expenses’ incurred during a business trip […]