The human element has always been crucial in business context. Talk of employees, employers, customers – existing or potential, clients, consultants, partners, mentors, investors, shareholders, community et al, the pervasive human element is applicable without an exception. People analytics is a structured business function to manage this element.

Research suggests that the HR leaders of tomorrow would understand what technology can do, how to mine…

Technology is often used to make the performance of our daily or work tasks easier – however it has become increasingly sophisticated and can now be used to measure and monitor our every move and task.

Recently, financial institution Barclays introduced a new tracking devices system called “OccupEye” underneath employee workstations in the UK. The…

Bullying complaints can often be difficult to manage and investigate, particularly when they involve allegations about the exercise of a workplace right to join or not join a union.

In King v The Trustee for Bartlett Family Trust T/A Concept Wire Industries [2017] FWC 3867, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) considered an unfair dismissal…

It is no secret that the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has been cracking down on employers breaching their employment obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FW Act) and exploiting vulnerable workers in order to gain financial and competitive advantage.

Indeed, the Federal Government is very close to passing a Bill…

Allegations of workplace bullying can present some of the most demanding circumstances that an employer will face in the course of the employment relationship. There is the initial response to consider, an investigation, the possibility of counter allegations and, of course, the potential involvement of lawyers and unions.

The Fair Work Commission…

Warning for employers relying on investigation reports in a termination   

What happens when the relationship of trust necessary between an employer and an employee breaks down? As the employer, who do you trust when you are trying to ensure honesty in the workplace?…

Feedback for team members in the work environment is a double edged sword. On one hand it can be constructive and useful, while on the other hand it can also cause stress and discomfort.

The stress and discomfort usually comes about because of the top-down aspect of feedback. Usually it’s a manager or leader providing feedback to a team member for the purposes of ‘course correction.’ Having the status of manager or leader poses a perceived threat to those who report to…

In a recent decision of the NSW Industrial Relations Commissions (NSW IRC), a senior corrective services officer (the Employee) was reinstated following his dismissal for involvement in an incident which lead to the escape of a maximum security inmate (Collins v Industrial Relations Secretary on behalf of the Department of Justice (Corrective Services NSW) [2017] NSWIRComm 1051).…

A disproportionately high number of allegations of bullying in emergency services and other high stress environments have led to a referral to the NSW parliament for an inquiry in May 2017, looking at the policy response to bullying, harassment, and discrimination in certain emergency services. A review is also being conducted…

I went to my first speed networking event in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and it was a very interesting experience. The event was positioned on Meet Up for Solo Entrepreneurs and I was invited by my friend Karen Cohen who has just started up her business Kaycee HR Consulting. Given that I am exploring the prospect of using Meet Up to advertise my …

Recently we published a post from an interview with Charles Caldwell, Director of Human Resources for the Hong Kong English Schools Foundation. The topic of that interview was managing change. Today I continue my discussion with Charles with a focus on neuroscience and the role of servant leadership in the modern organisation.

I enjoyed…

Usually, if someone brings an unfair dismissal or bullying claim, they won’t succeed if the conduct of their employer is considered ‘reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner’.

But what exactly does that mean?

What is reasonable management action? (What you can do)

The concept of “reasonable management action” exists in the legislation to essentially give permission for managers and business owners to take necessary steps to ensure…

There are thousands of big data tools out there for data analysis today. Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making. To save your time, in this post, I will list out 30 top big data tools for data analysis in the areas ofopen source data…

Running a business is hard and it often feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done that you want (or should) do. By the time you pay your bills, invoice customers, return calls, put the final touches on that big proposal, and get the stock order out, the day is over and it’s time to pick up the kids.  

Boring and seemingly…

In every workplace, there will eventually be a situation where an investigation needs to be carried out into an employee's compliant or conduct. One of the most crucial aspects of conducting workplace investigations includes preparing an investigation report which can be relied upon for any future purpose, including carrying out and implementing disciplinary action against an employee.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF…

It’s been said many times before, but we simply can’t understate the importance of employers enforcing health and safety policies and procedures in the workplace, including incident management procedures. These policies and procedures can save lives and limbs and allow employers to investigate incidents to prevent future occurrences. 

The…

At Workplace Law, we work with our clients to help them establish a set of workplace values and a Code of Conduct to set the standards expected from all employees.

Google’s much-publicised decision to dismiss an employee in America who wrote an internal memo to all staff criticising the tech company’s diversity policies has highlighted the necessity…

Employers and human resources professionals may often be provided with medical certificates which they are not quite sure about, prompting them to look at the certificate a bit more closely.

In Bluzer v Monash University [2017] FWCFB 4032, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) considered an appeal against a decision to…

With respect to taking notice of informal complaints and where they fit in the context of grievance handling procedures –there are three types of manager:

1. Those who, when listening to staff, just hear comments but don’t consider them as grievances;
2. Those who, when listening to staff, hear a concern and hold further…

The perception for some is that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will replace much of the work of HR departments. For leading organisations, the adoption of AI is a reality. The long-term benefits to productivity and overall cost savings to their organisations make the initial costs worthwhile. 

So what is AI exactly?