All publications relating to ‘Employment’
Unions are not above the law
In Brief In a very recent decision of the Federal Court, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) had damages awarded against it of $482,000 and was ordered to pay a fine of $80,000 for refusing to allow a couple to start work with a labour hire company. The labour hire company that refused to…
Moonlighting employees it can be difficult to stop
In Brief There can be a number of particularly important reasons why employers need to know whether an employee is working elsewhere and also the nature of that work. In a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (Bril ‑v- Rex Australia Limited), Vice President Hatcher found that the implied duty of fidelity…
Swearing at a boss, is it always a sackable offence?
In Brief In a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission, Deputy President Wells found against the company that summarily dismissed an employee for abusing the managing director of the company. The company was an SME and the managing director and the garbage truck driver were having a telephone conversation which got heated…
Redundancy… is it still a more convenient way of removing a difficult employee?
In Brief Removing staff that are not performing can be a protracted and convoluted process. For a long time, employers have often seen redundancy as an avenue for side stepping the various disciplinary/counselling sessions/warnings that have to occur prior to an employee being terminated for poor performance. The beauty of the redundancy…
They just don’t get on… but what can I do?
In Brief It can be a really difficult situation for an employer when two staff members simply do not get on. Neither is necessarily at fault or, alternately, both of them are. But what can an employer do? An employer is not able to make people like one another and their…
Directing an employee to go on gardening leave
In Brief When an employment relationship comes to an end, there are various mechanisms available to an employer to protect their business interests from an ex-employee. One such mechanism is to place the employee on gardening leave. Habersberger J of the Victorian Supreme Court described “gardening leave” as a “colloquial or euphemistic…
A flattering performance appraisal can be your undoing
In Brief We all try and see the best in people, right? We have been told that if you compliment and encourage people their behaviour will improve, correct? So, shouldn’t a performance review emphasise the positive to get the best out of your staff? Yet, in a recent decision of the Fair Work…
Can the Springboard principle be applied to restrain a former employee?
In Brief Employers have struggled in the past to find ways of restraining a former employee from setting up in competition and from soliciting their clients and their goodwill in the absence of a dedicated restraint of trade covenant contained in the employee’s contract of employment. However, a recent decision of the Federal Court of…
Defamation alleged in relation to teacher performance report
In Brief A recent action in defamation commenced by a person engaged as a casual teacher for a period of 1 month at a country high school, has cast the spotlight on the need for employers generally, to ensure performance processes and assessments are handled with extreme caution. In this instance, the teacher concerned has sued…
Demise of implied term of mutual trust and confidence — High Court decision
In Brief The legal fraternity has been eagerly awaiting the decision of the High Court in the case of Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker [2014] HCA 32 (10 September 2014). The issue for consideration involves whether in employment contracts, the common law of Australia implies a term of mutual trust and…