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 […]
Developing the skills to ask the right questions in any investigative interview or investigation is often a long and arduous journey peppered by mistakes that are only discovered when a case cannot be prosecuted or a decision upheld. Attempting to fast track this learning is the desire of all managers and practitioners. However, traditional learning […]
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 […]
We’re aware that for all business owners, the majority of days – and plenty of nights as well – will be spent juggling multiple balls connected to customers, products, services, payroll, health and safety, suppliers, marketing… the list goes on! And even with the best systems in place, we have all experienced what can happen […]
It is heartening to see that the stigma around mental illness is slowly reducing, both in workplaces and the broader community. Yet when it comes to identifying and monitoring mental illness at work, many employers are uncertain of the best mechanisms to use. We understand that employers want to do the right thing by their […]
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