We understand that for busy employers, time and energy are definitely limited resources. Regularly spread thin by the demands of customers, suppliers and employees, it can certainly be difficult to notice the finer goings-on of the everyday workplace. For this reason, human resource issues such as depression and other mental illnesses in […]
By Andrew Hedges Can workplace corruption be halted? Is there a way to stop workplace corruption from mushrooming or thriving? It obviously has to trickle from the top down, so managers and supervisors need to be made aware of their role in changing the culture. If there is a real desire to tackle workplace […]
By Andrew Hedges Wanting to belong How does bullying operate in the corrupt workplace? If there is anything a new employee in a workplace does not want to feel is it’s being an outsider. Just as a new student in an established class at school wants to fit in and be a part […]
By Andrew Hedges WORKPLACE CORRUPTION AND SOCIAL IDENTITY If you’re new to an organisation and you’re given a company credit card for work-related expenses such as taking clients out to lunch or for travel purposes, your social identity can be tied in to how the workplace culture “interprets” that company credit card. This ties in […]
By Andrew Hedges Whistle blowing is a part of who we are Australia is no stranger to a tradition of whistle blowing and it comes in various forms. They can be individuals who speak out against fraud, wrongdoing, illegal activities and corruption in the workplace. But, while that whistle blowing tradition has probably been […]
Do you remember the “sneaky nuts” craze? If you do, you can blame the character of Daniel as created and brought to life by Australian comedian Chris Lilley in the mockumentary series Angry Boys. He introduced us to sneaky nuts photo bombs in 2011. For those of you who have no idea what we are […]
Procedural fairness (or ‘natural justice’ as it is otherwise known) has ancient origins, dating back to the Greek philosopher, Plato and Roman philosopher, Seneca.1 It applies in situations where there is a decision to be made which could have an adverse outcome on the rights, interests or legitimate expectations of a person. Historically […]
In the recent case of Colin Wright v AGL Loy Lang, the full bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) was faced with an interesting conundrum – could the criminal law Pfitzner principle be legitimately applied to a civil matter? With the original decision on the point being in the negative, the appeal bench […]
We understand that when business owners have a strong hunch regarding an employee’s dubious behaviour, their instinct can be to act in a fast and decisive manner. Often angered and sometimes caught off guard by what appears to be serious misconduct, employers can be tempted to deal with a worker’s blatant misconduct at once – […]
In Australia, employers are legally obliged to provide a safe workplace for its workers so it is important to be aware of the impact of failing to investigate workplace incidents properly. Under our common law provisions, employers may be liable for negligence if they do not take the proper steps to investigate an event in […]