Employment

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Employment Law Series: Sexual harassment and #metoo – case update

Overview A number of Unfair Dismissal decisions before the FWC this year confirm that the #MeToo movement is gaining traction in Australia, with employers beginning to adopt a much higher standard of what is appropriate in the workplace and taking swift action in dismissing workers engaging in inappropriate behaviour. The #MeToo movement has encouraged victims …
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Employment Law Series: Disputes arising from employment termination – Unfair dismissal

As we all know, often termination is challenging and if not handled delicately can result in a dispute.  The common disputes that arise out of employment termination are: Unfair Dismissal; and General Protection claims. In this article, we examine unfair dismissal. Who can claim for unfair dismissal? The unfair dismissal regime applies to national system …
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Employment Law Series: Disputes arising from employment termination – general protection claims & adverse action

As we all know, often termination is challenging and if not handled delicately can result in a dispute.  The common disputes that arise out of employment termination are: Unfair Dismissal; and General Protection claims. In this article, we examine general protection claims. General Protections One of the primary objectives of the Fair Work Act 2009 …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Serious Misconduct

It is fair for an employer to dismiss an employee without notice or warning when the employee’s conduct is sufficiently serious to justify immediate dismissal (summary dismissal)[1]. The reasons must be sound, defensible and well founded. It cannot merely be a matter of the employer showing that it believed on reasonable grounds that the employee …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Redundancy

What is redundancy? In general, a position is redundant if the employer no longer requires the job to be performed by anyone. In enacting redundancy an employer must comply with the requirements of: Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FWA) relating to dismissal on grounds of genuine redundancy, severance pay and consultation over large-scale redundancies any …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Performance Management

The most common reason for an employer wanting to terminate an employee’s contract is underperformance. Managing this process carefully is required given the complexities and differences surrounding each employment relationship. You need to ensure the employee is treated fairly and minimize any adverse repercussions on any business. It is important to understand that underperformance and …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Abandonment of Employment

Employers need to be careful when considering whether abandonment of employment has occurred and terminating the employment contract. Abandonment cannot be determined strictly based upon the contractual position. But does include a detailed consideration of all the facts (not including the parties’ subjective beliefs or the reasonableness of the parties’ conduct). The wrong determination on …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Resignations

The most common form of employment separation is where an employee provides an employer with Notice of their intention to end the employment relationship. This is usually consensual and the key consideration is normally whether sufficient Notice has been provided. Notice The required Notice can be set out in an enterprise agreement, employment agreement or …
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