In a recent decision of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (the Court), Rosa v Daily Planet Australia Pty Ltd & Anor [2016] FCCA 312 (Daily Planet Case) employers are once again reminded that employment of an employee can only be terminated on a lawful basis.

In the Daily Planet Case the Applicant had worked for the brothel from July 2008 until 3 December 2011 as a receptionist.  Being a single mother, the Applicant negotiated particular shifts. …

An organization—any organization—is a bunch of people working together towards a common goal. We often lose sight of this simple idea. Managers become obsessed with processes, procedures, methods, and systems. We’ve dehumanized the workplace. Although many would argue that the workplace was never humanized. We’ve learnt to systematize, homogenize, process, and mechanize human work. We’ve forgotten that the…

Everyone has a tough day at some stage. Even the most professional employee can be knocked off balance by a difficult situation that's happening outside of the office. But what if someone in your team is consistently showing signs of non-work related stress and they've started dropping the ball and making glaring errors? 

It’s more common than you’d expect

In a…

A quarter of Australian bosses are the targets of upward bullying according to a study conducted by Griffith University. Upward bullying occurs when a manager is subjected to bullying…

Employees often argue that they have a “right” to a support person when they are invited to attend a “show cause” or termination meeting.  Do employees have this “right”? Should a disciplinary meeting go ahead if the employee does not bring a support person?

One of the key criteria that the Fair Work Commission (FWC) will consider when deciding whether the termination of an employee’s employment was “harsh, unjust or unreasonable” is if there was “any unreasonable…

We had a lot of response to my recent blog ‘Time to Jump - Launching your portfolio career’. I…

Last week, our company SoapBox was named the best small business workplace in Canada by Great Place to Work.…

There I said it!  Now, I know I have said before not to consult to tick a box and I still believe there is so much to be gained by consulting with staff but I have to say there are times when it’s a waste of time and does nothing more than increase employee anxiety!

When it comes to redundancies there is an obligation under Awards to consult – and this can actually be tough on the…

In our previous blog "Video on demand – the danger to employers for employees caught behaving badly” we highlighted the risks to employers in the age of smart phones when an employee’s questionable conduct is recorded or shared around the workplace or on social media.

Recently sports and news outlets were abuzz after video emerged of a NBA player…

Recently I have been asked by a few organisations what the "rules" are in circumstances where they want to terminate a person's employment before they commence.



Whilst it shouldn't be a situation that arises frequently, from time to time between completion of the recruitment process and commencement of the new employee, either:

(a) circumstances change and you no longer need someone for the role; or

(b) information comes to light that changes your opinion in relation to…

Millennials make up 35% of the work force. In 2020, that number will soar to 50%.

Now more than ever, organisations are placing an emphasis on making…

The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) requires all private sector Australian companies with 100 or more staff to report each year to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). 

 A company’s report will include the latest information regarding a company’s workplace profile for employees who are based in Australia.  Employers have until 31 May 2016 to provide this information to WGEA.

The data collected from the reports will be aggregated and analysed by…

There have been a deluge of reports coming out of Victoria in the last few months focusing on bullying and harassment. 

The hair-raising antics of former Geelong Mayor Darryn Lyons are detailed in the parliamentary inquiry report released last week. Lyons is…

GRC Solutions is thrilled to announce that we have won multiple awards at the 2016 LearnX Impact Awards.

The LearnX Impact Awards recognise the exceptional impact of organisational learning, technology and performance in the compliance space.

This year GRC Solutions submitted entries with American Express, the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations.

GRC Solutions was also recognised for the outstanding work of our Instructional Designer Andrew Mak as well as our…

I was recently invited to sit on a panel at one of Sydney’s leading business schools to share my thoughts on how I had set up my successful ‘expert practise’ as a consultant. As I looked around, I was struck by the wide variety of people in the room. They ranged from twenty something students, presumably in the early stages of their careers, to folk in their 50s and…

Leadership continues to be an increasing concern among HR and business leaders around the world. In the latest Deliotte Global Human Capital Trends Report 2016: The new organisation, different by design, they stated; “the leadership challenge is urgent and growing in importance.” The survey results from 7,096 companies globally rated leadership development as a ‘very…

Why do we in society, generally speaking, always tend to apply a blanket approach to everything?  This is a question I ask myself frequently and I see it across so many things in life whether it be things like raising children, diets and even more controversial topics such as vaccinations.   But we do it in the workplace too!  And we have to stop! 

The workplace is no different.  Every organisation is different with the biggest difference really being their organisational culture. …

I have a confession to make. For over 15 years I have been working with clients to develop their frontline leaders by running workshops. Over time I have come to the conclusion that, no matter how good the content or how skilled I am as a presenter, workshops don’t work. That’s why I’ve recently changed the services I offer. It turns out I’m in good company.

A recent …

Corporate uniforms often fall into the category of ‘important’ but ‘not urgent’ and whilst most companies understand the importance of this investment it can often be left as the last task to implement.  If you look at some of the major brands such as Virgin Airlines, Australia Post and any of our banks I'm sure you’d agree that their uniforms enhance their brand, set…

Employee use of social media during their personal time has again come to the forefront as a result of a controversial decision of the Fair Work Commission to reinstate a Centrelink employee who referred to clients as “junkies” and spastics” in online chat forums.

Over the course of 3 years Mr Starr made approximately 60 comments in online chat forums(during his personal time and whilst using an alias) which the Department of Human Services claimed breached organisational policies,…