In the wake of two recent judgments, employers appear to have more onerous obligations when defending claims brought under the Fair Work Act's adverse action provisions, say employment lawyers.
A business coach who publicly rebuked a senior employee during a team meeting acted reasonably, a tribunal has ruled, in rejecting the worker's psychological injury claim.
HR managers need to understand how industrial instruments and relevant legislation affect disciplinary matters before tricky situations arise, says Alison Page, a legal advisor to Wise Workplace Investigations.
A Victorian employee who was sacked without notice for breaching her employer's "backbiting policy" was unfairly dismissed, Fair Work Australia has ruled, describing the policy as "an extremely blunt instrument".
Workplace sexual-harassment policies could be subject to new scrutiny under upcoming equal opportunity legislation, according to lawyers from DLA Phillips Fox.
A senior employee whose performance was never assessed to determine whether she was eligible for a bonus has been awarded $74,000 in damages after a court confirmed her employment agreement was breached.
The Queensland Industrial Relations Court has rejected a nurse's claim that a "sudden" secondment to a different ward constituted unreasonable management action.
A government department that caught a senior employee accessing pornography on a work laptop at home, and out of work hours, did not breach privacy laws, the Federal Court has found.
Extensive, pre-prepared suitable-duties lists have helped a major Australian employer to dramatically reduce the amount of time it loses to injuries each year.
2010 was an interesting year for HR professionals - the economy was in recovery-mode, but this brought with it the challenge of how to quickly boost depleted teams and motivate disengaged staff to better performance. The remaining provisions of the Fair Work Act came into effect, adding a whole layer of uncertainty to HR's responsibilities, along with new legal risks.
The challenges employers face in managing underperformance continue to intensify, in light of flexible work arrangements, psychosocial obligations, and more. Minimise your legal risks and maximise your outcomes by attending this HR Daily Premium webinar.
