Workplace bullying has been identified as a serious problem in a large number of Australian organisations. According to a recent report produced by government organisation Safe Work Australia, workplace bullying affects between 3.5% and 21% of the Australian workforce and costs businesses and organisations around $6 billion a year. Although “bullying” is a commonly […]
Last week the Fair Work Commission ruled in favour of a teacher who appealed against unfair dismissal after 37 years of service. The appeal was granted in spite of recognition that there was a valid reason for him not to be reinstated. In the ruling the Fair Work Commission stated that the employer […]
Workplace misconduct, bullying and harassment are surprisingly common among Australian organisations. Although many problems can be managed and resolved through in house human resources and management, sometimes hiring an external investigator is the best option. A good workplace investigation follows a series of steps to ensure a fair outcome for everyone and an unbiased […]
On March 25th, an application against Energy Australia made by a former director of corporate affairs was dismissed at the Federal Court by Justice Julie Ann Dodds-Streeton. Former Energy Australia employee Kate Shea claimed that she had been made redundant in 2012 as retribution for sexual harassment complaints made previously and this was found […]
New changes to workplace bullying legislation have so far showed underwhelming results according to a Fair Work Commissioner with the first substantive order under the new act being made almost three months after the new system came into effect. The changes were made to the Fair Work Act 2009 last year in response to the […]
Workplace harassment can happen in a number of different environments, not just in the office as was upheld by a recent ruling in the NSW district court. In the first case of its kind, NSW teacher Christine Mickle successfully sued a former student for defamation via popular social media platform Twitter. The student was ordered […]
Allegations of misconduct can have a serious effect on employees and your agency’s public image. All employees who work for the Australian Public Service (APS) are required to abide by the APS code of conduct. If it is alleged that an employee has breached the terms of the APS code of conduct the agency they […]
As the sun rose over Sydney this morning, I got the news – WISE is going to Milan! I will be presenting a paper at the 9th International Conference on Workplace Bullying and Harassment in Milan, Italy, on 16 June 2014. Below is the abstract I submitted which has been accepted: WORKPLACE BULLYING OR REASONABLE […]
Keiko Adachi v Qantas Airways Limited 12 Feb 2014. [2014] FWC 518. If you don’t want your investigation failing because you’ve stumbled into the sticky trap of “investigator bias”, take note of these lessons from Qantas in a ruling by the Fair Work Commission early this month. The FWC found in favour of the […]
Video: The anti-bullying amendments to the Fair Work Act, introduced on 1 January 2014, mean that employers can no longer overlook complaints of workplace bullying. It sends a clear message that bullying in the workplace will no longer be tolerated. WISE CEO Harriet Stacey gives examples of recent instances when workplace bullying has been […]