Fair Work Commission Archives

COVID Controversy: Obtaining pandemic-relevant information from employees

An white circular sign with the letter 'i' in the middle - an information sign

As businesses navigate the challenges of ensuring the health and safety of their customers and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, they must be careful to avoid infringing upon the privacy of their employees. A recent decision in the Fair Work Commission is useful for understanding what information an employer can request of its employees, as…

Fair Work Commission proceedings: Head in the sand, or head in the game?

By Rebecca Goulter

An image of a man in a black suit and black leather shoes with his entire hand in the sand as the rest of his body is kneeling on the sand.

Receiving notice of any legal proceedings is enough to make the blood run cold of most business owners and HR professionals. For many, the process of defending such an application can be time consuming and emotionally taxing. While much work has been done to simplify and streamline Fair Work Commission processes, employers often find complying…

‘TikTok’ in the Workplace – A Ticking Time Bomb?

By Rebecca Goulter

a close up shot of someone's hand holding their phone with their right hand thumb hovering over the tik tok app on their phone.

Televisions have become flatter, we’ve moved from typewriters to laptops, and now mobile phones have become our everything-in-one device which dominates communication and even some people’s lives. A number of apps and online platforms have emerged to facilitate a purely digital means of interacting, such as Facebook and Instagram, and the hottest one of these…

Start the clock on dismissal claims

By Rebecca Goulter

A close up image of a right hand holding a silver stopwatch with their thumb on the top counter.

Whether it’s a quarrelsome employee, a serial underperformer, or a casualty of automation, the stress of dismissing an employee doesn’t end on their last day of employment. It’s not until 3 weeks (or 21 days) later, when the time limit to file a dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission expires can an employer experience…

Defective workplace investigations

By Rebecca Goulter

a broken black magnifying glass with small shards of glass to the left of the photo, The background consists of two landscape rectangles, the top is an off white, and the bottom is black.

Fair Work Commission losing patience over defective workplace investigations By Lucy Harper and Calum Woods, NRA Legal Please note, this decision was quashed by the Full Bench of the Commission on 11 November 2019. The Full Bench found that the Commissioner did not take into account Ms Murphy’s history of domestic violence and associated psychological injuries when…

Drinks after work: from legless to jobless

By Rebecca Goulter

A photograph of seven different wine/alcohol glasses laid out in a row with an overlay of an orange tinge.

When getting legless can lead to being jobless: lessons learned from after-work drinks By Thomas Parer and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Employers and employees are starting to realise that grabbing some casual drinks after work could leave them with bigger consequences than just a hangover. In the recent decision, the Full Bench of the Fair…

Workplace bullying costs business

By Rebecca Goulter

An image of little white game markers laid out randomly on a surface, with one red game marker knocked over in the crowd of the white ones.

Since its introduction in 2013, the Fair Work Commission’s anti-bullying jurisdiction has attracted its fair share of commentary. Of the 700 anti-bullying applications filed last year, a total of 53 proceeded to a formal hearing, and of those only 8 resulted in an order to stop bullying being issued. This means that the success rate…

Writing’s on the wall for outdated employment contracts

By Lindsay Carroll

a black fountain pen with a gold tip lying down on a piece of paper titled 'contract of employment'.

Playing musical chairs with an employment contract can be risky business. This usually happens when an employee doesn’t return a signed contract when starting a new job, and their employer allows them to work regardless. Other times an employee will change into a different role, but their existing contract remains in place. While these situations…

Domestic violence victim treated fairly despite sacking

By Sophie Goodall

A black and white image of a women from her shoulders upward, with both hands covering her entire face.

A supermarket retailer has successfully defended an unfair dismissal application despite the employee’s explanation that her deteriorating behaviour and performance was due to difficulties she was encountering in her personal life. In commending the employer for taking “extraordinary lengths” to support the employee, the Fair Work Commission (Commission) found that the dismissal was justified having…