Author: Eden Elliott – Friday, October 30, 2020. Case study prepared by WISE Workplace State Manager NSW, Tracey Bosnich Roderick v Washington H Soul Pattinson & Company Limited (No 2) [2020] NSWSC 1224 (10 September 2020) Most of us may believe that if a contract is not signed, it is not legally enforceable. On 10 September 2020,…
Unfair Dismissal Vince Scopelliti – Monday, August 02, 2021 A QLD Worker has won an #UnfairDismissal case after being terminated by his employer for refusing to carry out work that they believed to be unsafe. It was held that the employees have the right to refuse to perform unsafe work that would expose them to […]
Author: Eden Elliott – Tuesday, Sep 01, 2020. As employers, it can be difficult to classify any of your employees’ work as non-essential when every member of your team brings valuable individual strengths. These decisions can also pose significant risks where employers and employees want different things, sometimes leading to employees submitting appeals or complaints…
Author: Eden Elliott – Wednesday, July 01, 2020. Despite decades of effort and improvement in Australian workplace legislation and culture, sexual harassment is, unfortunately, still a real and prevalent issue, most recently for a former High Court justice. This case highlights the link between power imbalances and harassment behaviour. In 2018, the Australian Human Resources…
Author: Natasha Kennedy-Read and Vince Scopelliti – Tuesday, March 17, 2020 RELIABLE SOLIDARITY IN THE FACE OF COVID-19: We take the health and wellbeing of our people, clients and the broader community seriously. Our risk management team are meeting daily to ensure our continued service, support and protection to our clients, team and community. We are…
Author: Natasha Kennedy-Read and Vince Scopelliti – Tuesday, March 17, 2020 The FWC recently found SA CARE’s dismissal of a casual disability care worker to be unfair and ordered compensation. The employee in question was warned off tube-feeding clients due to her lack of certification. In response, she advised that she had been signed off…
Author: Vince Scopelliti – Tuesday, February 25, 2020 When dealing with allegations of staff misconduct, employers must be able to clearly delineate between fact-finding and disciplinary investigations. This includes communicating the difference to staff involved in the process. FACT-FINDING VS FORMAL INVESTIGATION A ‘fact-finding’ process is often a necessary preliminary step in determining whether…
Natasha Kennedy-Read and Vince Scopelliti – Wednesday, February 05, 2020 We are all familiar with the more obvious signs of workplace discrimination; but with targeted racism and xenophobia spreading faster than the Coronavirus, it is vital to be aware of the more nuanced and subtle acts of discrimination at work. Queensland has seen MP Duncan […]
How to Navigate Counter Allegations in Investigations Natasha Kennedy-Read and Vince Scopelliti – Friday, February 14, 2020 It is not unusual when investigating allegations such as sexual harassment, bullying or theft for the person accused of the misconduct to make a counter allegation. This in turn can generate further counter allegations, making it difficult for […]
Natasha Kennedy-Read and Vince Scopelliti – Wednesday, February 19, 2020 The rules around when staff can be terminated while they are on leave can be a source of consternation for management and human resources professionals. The consequences of getting it wrong are demonstrated in the recent Fair Work Commission decision of Tuan Nguyen v Adelaide Fencing […]