If you are dealing with an employee dispute, suspected misconduct or allegations of harassment and bullying in many cases it may be necessary to hire an external investigator. Utilising the services of an unbiased third party means that you can be sure your investigation will be free from personal conflict and the person in charge […]
Knowing when to hire an external investigator and when to undertake an internal investigation can be tricky. If you have an employee or group of employees who have been accused of misconduct or suspect that bullying or harassment is taking place in your organisation when is it appropriate to look into the matter yourself […]
A recent attempt by a former employee to take action against ANZ bank for bullying has been dismissed due to the fact that the employee is no longer working for the bank. According to the deputy president of the Fair Work Commission, the employee had no reasonable prospects of success so continuation of the case […]
A recent ruling by the Federal Circuit Court found that a law firm hadn’t taken adverse action against one of its solicitors after she complained of bullying and sexual harassment in December 2011. Emails sent from the solicitor to the firm where she stated that she wanted to consider how to part ways amicably and […]
Interviewing witnesses is a crucial part of any workplace investigation but it can sometimes be difficult to extract reliable evidence. According to the rules of evidence, hearsay, opinions and assumptions are not admissible in court and you should avoid using unsound evidence to make a decision on allegations of misconduct in the workplace. There are […]
A family-run photography business has been ordered to pay a former employee more than $235,000 in compensation and penalties in a constructive dismissal ruling by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The ruling, made on April 30 in Melbourne, imposed penalties on the former employers for discrimination and breaching the Fair Work Act, after they […]
When you are conducting a workplace investigation it’s essential that for any allegations to be upheld, there is evidence to prove them. Whatever evidence is used should be compliant with the rules of evidence – this is known as admissible evidence. Using admissible evidence ensures that if the matter is later disputed and ends up […]
The rules of evidence are a set of guidelines which are commonly used to decide what types of evidence are admissible in court and what can be used to prove or disprove an allegation. As workplace investigations do on occasion end up in court it’s important that any evidence used to decide a claim […]
In a recent court ruling the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW decided that a NSW public servant who was dismissed for inappropriate touching should be given his job back. The policy officer for the NSW Attorney General and Justice Department lost his job in 2012 after touching the breasts of five women during a […]
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 […]