Topics: Workplace relations and safety

The recent case of Lees v Asaleo Personal Care Pty Ltd (No 2) [2022] FedCFamC2G 264, serves as an important reminder that employers found to have taken adverse action against employees can be liable to pay large sums in compensation and penalties.

The Fair Work Commission has confirmed its power to make an order preventing systematic sexual harassment in a workplace cannot extend to circumstances where there is no ongoing risk that the harassment would continue.

Employers have a duty of care to introduce safeguards in order to protect their employees. In Cavanagh v Manning Valley Race Club Ltd [2022] NSWCA 36, the Court of Appeal found that an employer’s failure to introduce safeguards such as rear-view mirrors or rear cameras amounted to a breach of

The Fair Work Commission has recently confirmed that non-work related misconduct can provide employers with valid grounds for dismissal where the misconduct reflects an employee’s inability to properly discharge their employment obligations.

A recent Federal Court decision serves as an important reminder to exercise due care when discussing the contents of privileged investigation reports in order to preserve any future claims of legal professional privilege.

The QIRC has confirmed that it was reasonable for Queensland Health to decline a HR advisor’s request to move interstate and work from home, despite permitting her to work remotely full-time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an important lesson for employers, this case demonstrates that a worker’s disobedience or failure to follow instructions does not excuse inadequate safe work procedures and training.

To constitute bullying in the workplace, the test of ‘repeatedly behaving unreasonably towards an employee’ requires more than a mere finding that unreasonable behaviour has occurred repeatedly.

The start of a new year always promises to be a busy time for employers. In this article, we outline key changes that employers should be aware of in 2022.

Regardless of whether the employment relationship has been terminated, a demotion involving a significant reduction in pay may constitute a dismissal that enables employees to seek an unfair dismissal remedy.

With a rising number of employees claiming that asking for their vaccination status is a ‘breach of their privacy’, it is important for employers to understand their rights and obligations under the Privacy Act.