A case at the Fair Work Commission (Trialonas v Steric Solutions Pty Ltd) highlighted the need for employers to understand what Summary Dismissal is, how it applies to Serious Misconduct and the importance of thorough professional workplace investigations.

In this case a worker was summarily dismissed for using abusive language towards his supervisor but then allowed back to work…

An external HR consultant and a supervisor have been found accessorily liable for contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) after they were involved in the dismissal of an employee who raised a potential award non-compliance issue (Myers v Arenco Holdings Pty Ltd & Ors [2019] FCCA 3077).



The employee was a yoga instructor at a studio where her duties included…

In recent times there has been widespread publicity about the outbreak of a respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, which has spread from the Hubei province in China and has since been identified in other countries, including Australia.



On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.” …

Investigating Complaints Part 1 – Analysing the complaint.

This series is a step by step guide to help you investigate employee complaints.  The guides can also be used to investigate complaints from stakeholders including clients and customers.

This process is by no means the only process, it is however the process I use and have been using successfully for a number of years.

The first step in the investigation process is…

Perhaps one of the most vexed issues employers face is how to terminate employees without exposing the organisation to the risk of a successful unfair dismissal action. 

In light of the 15 January updates to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) Unfair Dismissals Benchbook, these two unfair dismissal…

Complaint Management  - Dealing with complainants and their expectations. As an business owner, employer or manager you may have to deal with complaints from stakeholders including clients, customers, suppliers or employees.  Complaints could relate to a number of issues however from experience we have found common complaints include;

• The behaviour of your staff towards stakeholders/clients/other employees
• The way in which your organisation or facility is being…

Our jobs have become so stressful that wellness is no longer a luxury but a real need if we wish to stay healthy both physically and mentally. Business owners and HR managers have realised this a long time ago, as we have seen a rise in…

It goes without saying that employees should treat each other with respect and courtesy in the workplace. 



In a recent decision, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) was tasked with considering a claim from a dismissed employee who alleged that remarks he made in the workplace were not offensive and did not justify his dismissal - Chileshe v EnergyAustralia Pty Ltd [2019] FWC 7622.



The employee in this case was…

As we have discussed in previous blogs, it is not uncommon for an employer and employee to enter into a deed of release or settlement when ending the employment relationship. A deed provides assurances to both parties that the employment relationship is at an end and they can both move forward.



A major reason that deeds are so effective is that they operate as a bar to any proceedings that a party may wish to commence at a later point in…

The concept of whistleblowing was once frowned upon, or at the very least looked upon with trepidation. However, in recent years, the value of promoting whistleblowing as an acceptable way to improve corporate regulatory compliance and culture has been demonstrated. In this changing landscape,…

Woolworths, Lush and Qantas were some of the big names in the spotlight recently due to underpayment of wages claims. Previously we discussed the wide ranging underpayment of wages issues a former Masterchef judge and bubble tea drink company had to deal with.  The top tip for Employers in that article was to…

Holding a conversation for which you believe the content will upset the listener evokes the concept of a difficult conversation. Difficult because the speaker often assumes the news will be difficult for the receiver to hear. And so the conversation also becomes labelled as difficult for the speaker to know how best to frame what they need to say to cause the least discomfort for the listener. 

In such situations,…

Volunteers can be a fabulous resource in any business. Generally, they bring enthusiasm, true passion for the organisation's ethos and purpose, and a "can-do" attitude to the job.

However, volunteers in the workplace can also bring their own set of challenges for organisations. Even though they are not on the payroll, volunteers enjoy the same protections as paid workers are entitled to. Indeed, the Work Health…

Source: depositphotos.com

In an increasingly competitive market, attracting, retaining, and…

At times during a workplace investigation it may be necessary to manage the expectations of managers especially senior managers. As an investigator you must take control and responsibility for the investigation.

In my experience management expectations/interference/demands comes in three forms;

1. Expectations around the process – how the investigation is conducted.
2. Expectations about the outcome – What they want.
3. Expectations around the timelines – How…

Workplace Investigations Uncooperative Complainants – at times during a workplace investigation you may have to deal with an uncooperative complainant, what should you do?

In my experience uncooperative complainants fall into 3 categories; (there may be more, but this is what I have encountered.)

1. Complainants who are concerned and even fearful of the process and their part in the investigation.
2. Complainants who know that their complaint is baseless and want…

The essentials:

As those workplaces that closed over Christmas and New Year reopen after the break, a few simple internal communication actions are helping both the operational and human responses to the current Australian fire catastrophe.

The most effective employee communication responses…