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 […]
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 […]
/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} An “absurd” defence of an unfair dismissal case, which a Fair Work Commissioner likened to a Monty Python sketch, has ended up being very costly for […]
The ‘reasonable person’ test is one of those legal quirks that form an enduring part of the common law, despite being very hard to actually define. One human causing damage to another is certainly a tale as old as history itself. And judges in various forms have always had the task of determining if the […]
Jill McMahon – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 Corruption is a huge problem for Australian organisations because it exists in so many places and in so many forms that the average manager may not even consider it an issue. Left unchecked, even minor corrupt behaviour can spiral out of control. Using legitimate processes is […]
We understand that it can seem unfair when the label ‘bully’ crops up in the workplace – particularly when no harm was ever actually intended. We’re all aware of the importance of intent when we look at matters in the criminal space; without identifiable intent, any prosecution team certainly faces an uphill battle. […]