Corruption and Collusion: Working Together for Harm It can be a shock to discover that an employee may be corrupt. An employer can be frozen with disbelief, deeply hurt by the breach of trust, and put in a dire financial predicament. These feelings (and the financial losses) can be magnified when more than one employee […]
DetailsOverstepping the Mark: When Unions Act Too Far In our last post, we looked at the importance of properly investigating allegations in the case of Amiatu and Others v Toll Ipec Pty Ltd. This case is also a significant commentary on union representation, and what can happen when a union official oversteps the mark. Even […]
DetailsThink Employee Behaviour is clear cut? Sometimes, workplace incidents can seem straightforward to an employer – an employee has done something wrong, and action should be taken. But two recent cases before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) demonstrate the importance of properly investigating a matter and relying on sound evidence before taking action against an employee, […]
DetailsHow to Cover Essential Rights in an Interview Covering the essential rights of a person in an interview is crucial to procedural fairness. If the interviewee is not made aware of their rights from the outset, anything that they may say during the interview may be viewed as being lacking in procedural fairness and of […]
DetailsCareless Whispers: Confidentiality and Office Gossip It’s human nature, really. We all love glimpses into the private lives of others, which is why the Kardashians are a household name. And our appetite for gossip can naturally extend to the workplace as well. We spend a lot of our lives in the company of our workmates after all, […]
DetailsRed Flags for Workplace Fraud It’s a bright, sunny day outside and an employee really doesn’t feel like going to work. They decide to call in sick and spend the day at the beach. It must be okay, because everyone does it. Right? Wrong. An employee claiming paid sick leave when they are fit to […]
DetailsTiptoeing Through the Minefield of Raising Allegations There’s an awful lot at stake when conducting workplace investigations, and so they need to be handled with care and skill. It really is like tiptoeing through a minefield. One wrong move can cause an explosion of legal consequences that may harm your organisation. One key area of […]
DetailsSurviving Hell – Men and Workplace Bullying As a society, Australia is becoming better at dealing with workplace bullying. That is, better at understanding, noticing, preventing, stopping and compensating for injury. Yet we also have so much to learn about the more nuanced after-effects of this scourge within Australian workplaces. One problematic and often ignored […]
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