By ALISON PAGE, Legal Counsel Often it’s not a one-off event; investigations into alleged sexual harassment frequently reveal that on previous occasions the respondent has faced other accusations of inappropriate conduct against fellow employees. This evidence is traditionally known as “similar fact evidence” or “tendency evidence”. When the investigator considers each alleged incident in […]
Whether you contract an external investigator or conduct an investigation yourself, you need to record the process, document the evidence you gathered and articulate the evaluation you applied to make the findings. The Investigation Report needs to provide the decision-maker with all the relevant information to make fast, reliable decisions that won’t lead them […]
A recent case determined by the Fair Work Commission provides some important lessons for employers about bullying dismissals. In Harris v Workpac Pty Ltd [2013] FWC 4111 the Commission found in favour of the applicant and determined that her dismissal for gross misconduct for bullying a co-worker was unfair. Mrs Harris was dismissed on 20 […]
Does your team know the difference between workplace bullying and reasonable management action? Do your policies and procedures reflect the new draft Code of Practice for Preventing and Responding to Workplace Bullying? When an employee makes a complaint of workplace bullying, will your staff know how to respond, come January 2014? Ensure you are not […]
Fraud and corruption were top of mind last week, and not just because the NSW’s Independent Commission Against Corruption handed down its findings in the Eddie Obeid investigation, while Greg Pearce, former NSW state Minister for the Illawarra, was stood down for corruption allegations. At the same time, I joined some of the country’s top […]
By ALISON PAGE, Legal Counsel – Earlier this year, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal determined a sexual harassment case in which the Tribunal member described the employer’s initial investigation as ‘bungled’.* The Tribunal accepted that the HR department was hard pressed, understaffed and overworked. However, the cautionary tale from this case is that this […]
As investigators we are often asked to assess the credibility of a witness: it’s the client question I most dislike. As an investigator with a background in psychology and witness memory, I am far more interested in the reliability of their evidence. It is true, for example, that the drinking habits of a witness […]
A basic understanding of criminal law – especially the powers and responsibilities of the police – can make for better decision-making and better outcomes for employers in criminal cases of workplace misconduct. WISE Workplace has handled a few cases recently where the employer or HR manager either hasn’t understood the role of the police in […]
The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 has just passed in the Senate, and come January 2014 HR managers will have to consider more carefully how their organisation responds to complaints of bullying. The primary source of information in any complaint is the people involved; the complainant, the accused and co-workers who may have witnessed the […]
A starting point for any court of law when assessing the legitimacy of an administrative decision is fairness – procedural fairness Now that Safe Work Australia has released the draft model code for bullying in the workplace, employers need to ensure that procedural fairness is at the heart of their response to bullying issues. A […]