unfair dismissal Archives | Page 2 of 2

If an employee gets high can we say goodbye? Not necessarily, says the FWC

A close up image of a patch of smoke blown out from someone's mouth from smoking.

Employers often spruik their ‘zero tolerance’ drug and alcohol policies when trumpeting their safety and workplace processes and cultures. However, the Fair Work Commission has also been promoting a ‘zero…

Legal Beagles | Top 10 Dismissals of 2019

By Sophie Goodall

An image of someone's right hand picking up a wooden block in a shape of a simple person that was standing on a red 'X'. The wooden block is in the middle of a line of other grey blocks of the same shape.

2019 is drawing to a close, so the Legal Beagles decided to go over their favourite (and most infamous) dismissal decisions of the year. From family squabbles to extremely bad behaviour, it’s a…

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…

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…

The Israel Folau Saga

By Rebecca Goulter

A shot of a person's hands with their fingers clasped together laid in the middle of an open book.

It has been heralded as the test case on where to draw the line on the freedom to practise religion, and how much say an employer has in their employees’…

Workplace investigations – Is the journey more important than the destination?

By Rebecca Goulter

On the left hand side is a hand holding a pair of black binoculars in the air on a light mint-coloured background

The Fair Work Commission (per Deputy President Anderson) stated recently that a workplace investigation “is not a court of law or a quasi-judicial proceeding. It is an internal disciplinary process…

Understanding the difference between unfair dismissal claims and general protections claims

By Sophie Goodall

Two pencils are laid down with their tips touching each other. On the left hand side is a white pencil with white lead on a black background, and on the right hand side is a black pencil with black lead on a white background.

Late last year, the media introduced us to Angela Williamson, an employee of Cricket Australia allegedly sacked after she posted on Twitter criticising the Tasmanian Government’s policy on abortion laws.…

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…