Teamwork. It can really lift the performance of an organisation. But what happens when employees use teamwork to act against an employer or other employees who refuse to engage in corrupt conduct? When employees start using their alliances and networks for corrupt activities, we have seen the concept of teamwork sour – and organisations […]
Sometimes you just can’t or shouldn’t conduct a misconduct investigation in-house. Where there are conflicts of interest or specialist skills required, organisations may be best suited to engaging the services of a private provider to obtain the information required for the business to make the right decisions. But how do you know if the […]
The larger the organisation, the greater the potential for bullying and harassment to become ingrained in workplace culture. When this happens, the victim can become the perpetrator, and the cycle continues. The situation may be made worse by management acquiescence, especially if the attitude is “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the […]
A quarter of Australian bosses are the targets of upward bullying according to a study conducted by Griffith University. Upward bullying occurs when a manager is subjected to bullying behaviour by their subordinates. Recent research presented at the 10th International Conference on Workplace Bullying in Auckland last week presented new research on the dynamics of […]
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 […]