Employees must not pursue personal gain at the expense of their employer
In Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society Ltd v Woff [2016] FCA 248, Besanko J provided a helpful outline of the principles that are used to determine whether employees have breached the fiduciary duties that they owe to employers. The Facts Mr Woff and Mr Corby were employees of funeral fund, Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society Ltd (Lifeplan). […]
Directors’ Liability for Underpayment
In Fair Work Ombudsman v Konsulteq Pty Ltd [2015] FCCA 182, Judge Riethmuller ordered two companies and their sole director to pay $200,000 in penalties and compensation for the consistent failure of the companies to comply with the Fair Work Act 2009, including engaging in sham contracting and adverse action. The Facts Konsulteq Pty Ltd […]
Social Media Comments and Workplace Misconduct
In Starr v Department of Human Services [2016] FWC 1460, Vice President Hatcher provided some commentary on the circumstances in which employers are entitled to dismiss employees for conduct that they engage in outside of work hours. The facts Mr Starr was a Centrelink customer service officer who had been employed by the Department of Human […]
Summary Termination for Workplace Misconduct
In Bartlett v Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd [2016] NSWCA 30, the New South Wales Court of Appeal found that an employee had failed to prove that the employee had actually breached his employment contract prior to summarily terminating his employment. The decision is an excellent refresher on the key principles of workplace […]
Should you incorporate your workplace policies into your employment contracts?
Whether or not you should incorporate your workplace policies into your employment contracts is a difficult question. This is something you need to think very carefully about, so you do not end up being sued by your employees for not following them.
How to manage long-term sick leave
Collison’s Case is another good reminder of the need to have in place a well-considered sick leave policy to put you in the strongest possible position to manage people taking sick leave, including those rare employees who seek to abuse the system. This case highlights again that if you get it wrong, the costs are high.
Parental or Maternity Leave: How Does It Affect The Workplace
The decision of the Federal Circuit Court in Heraud v Roy Morgan Research Ltd [2016] FCCA 185 (‘Heraud’) is a timely reminder that employers need to be careful if they are restructuring the organisational chart whilst employees are on maternity leave. Roy Morgan Research was found to have taken adverse action against Ms Heraud because […]
7 Steps to Effective Recruitment
Recruitment should incorporate the following steps: Step 1 – Before you start looking Step 2 – Preparing a job description and person profile Step 3 – Finding candidates Step 4 – Managing the application process Step 5 – Selecting candidates Step 6 – Making the appointment Step 7 – Induction Step 1 – Before you […]
10 Golden Rules for Employers
Starting a business is already a complicated affair. When you add employees to the mix, it can often become overwhelming for employers. Below we’ve compiled 10 golden rules for employers: Nobody starts work without a signed contract. Diarise probation expiry dates and make sure there is a performance review at the end of everybody’s probationary […]