There has been a deluge of reports coming out of Victoria in the last few months focusing on bullying and harassment. The hair-raising antics of former Geelong Mayor Darryn Lyons are detailed in the parliamentary inquiry report released last week. Lyons is reported to have threatened, bullied and displayed other unacceptable behaviours towards staff. He […]
Imagine this. Alice, new to her workplace, is given a company credit card for expenses such as client entertainment and work-related travel. She notices that other employees use their credit cards to purchase lunch, even when they’re not entertaining clients, and has heard a couple of people saying that they use it to buy petrol […]
Child protection and child abuse are issues of such a serious nature that they’re currently the subject of their own Royal Commission. But a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) seems to fly in the face of the Royal Commission’s recommendations, as well as the advances in reportable conduct legislation in NSW. […]
With corruption costing the world economy an estimated 2.6 trillion dollars per year, you can bet that organisations are sitting up and taking note. Plenty of them are losing big money, and a lot of individuals are getting rich by underhanded means. The Victorian Government took action to stem the scourge of corruption in 2011, […]
Jill McMahon – Wednesday, March 23, 2016 This month the NSW Ombudsman hosted a forum reflecting on the past 16 years of Reportable Conduct legislation in NSW. With over 800 attendees, the gathering represented an exceptional group of people with a wealth of expertise in this sensitive and tricky area. Key messages from the […]
If you’ve ever conducted a disciplinary interview with an employee, you may have asked them if there are things they’d like you to take into account when making your decision about how to handle the matter. These are often referred to as ‘mitigating factors’, and are an important part of the disciplinary process. But we […]
We first ran this blog in 2014 and from the number of comments we received, it clearly raised issues that resonated with many of our readers. So by popular demand, here it is again. We welcome your comments, as always. Bullying and harassment legislation is in place to protect employees from being bullied by their […]
Jill McMahon – Thursday, March 03, 2016 Corruption is a significant issue in Australia’s public sector. It can exist in many forms with varying degrees of severity. But even though its existence is well documented, it remains difficult to address because witnesses can be unwilling to report their experiences. There can be many reasons for […]
In the often stormy seas of workplace investigations, the issue of investigator bias lurks in the undercurrents, a trap for the unwary employer. One of the most regular complaints we hear from people who have been the subject of an investigation is that the investigator was biased and the decision was predetermined, and they […]
Rules of evidence exist to ensure that court hearings are properly and fairly conducted. They are enshrined in legislation. To be admissible, each piece of evidence must satisfy all the checks and balances set out in the legislation. EVIDENCE AND THE Fair Work Commission (FWC) The FWC is not bound by the rules of evidence […]