Procedural fairness must be top of mind, for all organisations when conducting a workplace investigation. Failing to allow an employee sufficient time to respond to an allegation or taking a pre-determined view of the outcome of an investigation, for example, proceeding with terminating employment, can leave an employer open to an unfair dismissal claim. The […]
One of the most difficult aspects of a workplace investigation is the moment when the investigator or employer realises the immediate suspension of an employee is required. We examine the warning signs that a suspension might be necessary, as well as the best way to handle this complex eventuality. The what and why of suspension […]
When conducting investigations or otherwise making determinations in the workplace, it is essential to avoid bias, whether conscious or unconscious. It is equally important to avoid a situation where co-workers believe decisions made in the workplace are biased – whether real or perceived. What is unconscious bias? Unconscious bias may take a number of […]
Most employers and employees are likely have at least some contact with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) during their working lives. This might be as simple as obtaining information about award conditions and employee rights, or as contentious as appearing before the FWC in a workplace dispute or unfair dismissal matter. So how does […]
Part of running an effective organisation is ensuring that all staff are held accountable for their actions in the workplace, and are able to air grievances and raise complaints in a safe forum. This means that employers may need to undertake investigations into staff misconduct from time to time. Managing an unbiased and thorough […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Sometimes you just can’t or shouldn’t conduct a misconduct investigation in-house. Where there are conflicts of interest or specialist skills required, organisations may be best suited to engaging the services of a private provider to obtain the information required for the business to make the right decisions. But how do you know if the […]
If you’ve ever conducted a disciplinary interview with an employee, you may have asked them if there are things they’d like you to take into account when making your decision about how to handle the matter. These are often referred to as ‘mitigating factors’, and are an important part of the disciplinary process. But we […]