Posts: application dismissed

In a recent decision on a stop bullying application, the Fair Work Commission has provided support to employers (and in particular, managers) attempting to manage underperforming employees in a reasonable manner.

A common issue faced by employers is when employees seem unable to detach themselves from their mobile phones when they should be working.

When hiring new employees, there are often a number of pre-employment processes and requirements to be completed before an employee actually commences work. A question that often arises is – what happens if those pre-employment checks are not completed satisfactorily or at all?

Employers have a responsibility to address and manage poor conduct and behaviour which may expose other workers to work health and safety risks in the workplace. Implementation of effective disciplinary processes are vital in curbing such risks that may lead to a poor workplace culture, which may in turn create psychosocial hazards.

There are a number of legal obligations and risks that an employer must consider when implementing any form of disciplinary or dismissal process. These are not limited to claims made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) but can also include the risk of claims made under anti-discrimination or workers compensation legislation.

In safety-critical workplaces, it is essential that employers not only have in place robust safety standards and policies but also that they regularly enforce them and penalise infractions appropriately.

An employer may apply to the Fair Work Commission to have an employee’s redundancy pay reduced to a specified amount (which may be nil) in circumstances where it has obtained “other acceptable employment” for the employee.

An employer has successfully defended an adverse action claim brought by a former employee as the court was satisfied that the employee was not dismissed for a prohibited reason.