All publications relating to ‘Employment’
Can you sack a worker by text message?
In brief Hutchison Ports’ recent dismissal of nearly 100 of its employees by a midnight text message has made headlines around Australia. It has also sparked outrage and huge protests amongst its workforce. This article looks at some of the issues arising from this communication style when it comes to terminating employment. The…
When can employees behave badly and get away with it?
In brief One of the challenges for any employer is to manage workforce events such that the employees get to relax and have a good time – without offending, upsetting or harassing their colleagues. One of the key culprits in this process is the obligatory office Christmas party. What happens when staff…
When a choice is not a choice
In Brief As a business owner you can choose whether or not to pay staff bonuses, right? “Discretionary” means … well … discretionary – doesn’t it? Not always says the Federal Court in the recent case of Russo v Westpac. In that case, the court ordered Mr Russo’s employer to pay a discretionary bonus…
When can you direct employees to undergo a medical examination?
In Brief One of the common concerns that employers have is whether their employees are well enough to carry out their duties. This may be because an employee is particularly overweight, may be displaying episodes of dizzy spells or is obviously labouring with a bad back or a sore knee. The employer…
Unions are not above the law
In Brief In a very recent decision of the Federal Court, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) had damages awarded against it of $482,000 and was ordered to pay a fine of $80,000 for refusing to allow a couple to start work with a labour hire company. The labour hire company that refused to…
Moonlighting employees it can be difficult to stop
In Brief There can be a number of particularly important reasons why employers need to know whether an employee is working elsewhere and also the nature of that work. In a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (Bril ‑v- Rex Australia Limited), Vice President Hatcher found that the implied duty of fidelity…
Swearing at a boss, is it always a sackable offence?
In Brief In a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission, Deputy President Wells found against the company that summarily dismissed an employee for abusing the managing director of the company. The company was an SME and the managing director and the garbage truck driver were having a telephone conversation which got heated…
Redundancy… is it still a more convenient way of removing a difficult employee?
In Brief Removing staff that are not performing can be a protracted and convoluted process. For a long time, employers have often seen redundancy as an avenue for side stepping the various disciplinary/counselling sessions/warnings that have to occur prior to an employee being terminated for poor performance. The beauty of the redundancy…
They just don’t get on… but what can I do?
In Brief It can be a really difficult situation for an employer when two staff members simply do not get on. Neither is necessarily at fault or, alternately, both of them are. But what can an employer do? An employer is not able to make people like one another and their…
Directing an employee to go on gardening leave
In Brief When an employment relationship comes to an end, there are various mechanisms available to an employer to protect their business interests from an ex-employee. One such mechanism is to place the employee on gardening leave. Habersberger J of the Victorian Supreme Court described “gardening leave” as a “colloquial or euphemistic…