A recent decision of the Australian Information Commissioner has confirmed that certain categories of internal documents cannot generally be forced to be the subject of a disclosure process. The decision, which was handed down by Commissioner Tim Pilgrim on April 5, 2017, arose from a refusal by Australia Post to produce documents to a […]
In the conduct of any workplace investigation, it can sometimes be tempting to hurry past those alleged facts that appear “perfectly clear”. Such perceptions arise when we draw together two or more related elements from an investigation, add our own assumptions on the matter, and infer from this a particular conclusion. Unfortunately, such inferences almost […]
Some of the important decisions handed down in the employment law world during 2016 would have left more than one employer very glad that they were not the ones facing the Fair Work Commission! In part 1 of our year-end review of the cases of 2016, we covered the interplay between employment law and […]
As another year gets underway, it’s timely to look back at some of the most significant fair work and employment law-related decisions handed down during 2016, and the lessons employers can take away from these cases. In this two-part series, we first look at how general legal principles fit into the sphere of employment law. […]
Most workplace investigators operate fairly and thoroughly, producing high quality reports following each investigation. Yet oversights do occur – and some investigators have been known to miss vital clues or pieces of the workplace puzzle.Similarly, even though all essential material might be uncovered during an investigation, it still might not be accurately incorporated into the […]
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 […]
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 – […]
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