Workplace Policies

November 14, 2018

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
New International OHS Standard Published and Federal Court to Consider ‘CASUAL LEAVE’ Issue Again

Awards and Employee Entitlements, Policies and Procedures, Workplace Health & Safety Adverse Action, Bullying, Contract of Employment, Discrimination, Dismissal, Employee Entitlements, Employer fined, Employment Contract, Employment Law, Fair Work Act 2009, Fair Work Ombudsman, Workplace Hazards, Workplace Injury, Workplace Policies, Workplace Safety

This month we look at the new international OHS standard published by Standards Australia. We also discuss the current ‘casual leave’ issue that is set to be considered again by the Federal Court, with a number of parties intervening in a new case brought by Workpac. New OHS standard published The world’s first international OHS […]

December 2, 2016

Termination disproportionate to theft

Archive Termination, Workplace Policies

Not only has the Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) found that an employee was unfairly dismissed following findings of theft being made against him, but the FWC also awarded the employee significant compensation. In an eye-opening decision for employers, the FWC heard that the flight attendant was dismissed after a small amount of alcohol was found […]

March 15, 2016

Mentor sexually harassed co-worker but employer not liable

Archive Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Harassment Policy, Training, Victimisation, Workplace Policies

The Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission has recently handed down a decision that has a number of lessons for employers. In this case, some of the conduct undertaken by the respondent employee was found to be sexual harassment of the complainant; some of the conduct was found to have no connection with the complainant’s employment; and […]

April 13, 2015

Incorporating policies into employment contract costs employer $3 million

Archive Chief Executive, Employment Contract, Redundancy Policy, Workplace Policies

An employer’s unwitting error in incorporating its policies, including a redundancy policy, into a Chief Executive’s employment contract resulted in a significant financial windfall for the redundant Chief Executive. Interestingly, the ‘Global Markets Head’ of the same business tried to establish a similar claim; however it was found that he was not made redundant, but […]

October 26, 2014

No damages due to noncompliance with manual handling training

Archive Manual Handling, WHS, Workplace Hazards, Workplace Injury, Workplace Policies, Workplace Safety

A recent decision of the District Court of Queensland has found that where appropriate manual handling training had been provided to an employee and their injury arose from a failure to comply with that training, the employer or host employer will not be liable for that injury. In Tawera v BDS Recruit Pty Ltd & […]

September 28, 2014

FWC reiterates importance for anti-bullying policies, grievance procedures and careful selection of managers

Archive Anti-Bullying, Grievance procedures, managers, Workplace Policies, Workplace Procedures

At a recent Labour Law Conference in Sydney, the Fair Work Commission’s Senior Deputy President Hamberger provided an update on the FWC’s new anti-bullying jurisdiction. In his Keynote Address, His Honour noted that most of the matters that had been lodged had been resolved prior to any formal hearing, and there still had (at that […]

May 19, 2014

Reinstatement ordered despite Christmas party harassment

Archive Dismissal, Reinstatement, Sexual Harassment, Workplace function, Workplace Policies

The New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission has decided that a public servant who admitted to touching five of his colleagues breasts’ at a work Christmas function should be reinstated to his position. Facts The employee had consumed a considerable volume of alcohol before attending a workplace function with a number of his work colleagues, […]

February 7, 2014

Refusal to sign social media policy grounds for dismissal

Archive Social Media, Termination, Workplace Policies

In the recent case of Pearson v Linfox Australia Pty Ltd, the Fair Work Commission held that the employee’s dismissal was not harsh, unjust or reasonable, given the string of evidence relating to the employee’s failure to follow company policies and procedures, including his resistance to signing the company social media policy. The employee had […]