January 2019 Causing health and safety risk is a legitimate basis for dismissal Employee was dismissed after being found to have brought duelling pistols to work.
December 2018 Disciplinary action taken for employee's off duty conduct The Case Urso v QF Cabin Crew Australia Pty Limited T/A QCCA (2018) Mr Urso was employed as a flight attendant by QF Cabin Crew Australia Pty Ltd (QCCA). Mr Urso was rostered on a seven-day flight pattern flying from Brisbane to Los Angeles to New York to Los
December 2018 Can an employee engaged to work overseas bring a claim in Australia? The Case Cripps v Talga Resources Ltd (2016) Mr Cripps worked for Talga Resources Ltd (Talga) in Sweden for the entirety of his employment with Talga and was paid in the Swedish currency. Talga was a company registered in Australia. Talga made Mr Cripps’ position redundant. Mr Cripps applied to
December 2018 Employers must strictly comply with notice of employee representational rights The Case Aldi Foods Pty Limited as General Partner of ALDI Stores (A Limited Partnership) v Shop, distributive and Allied Employees Association & National Union of Workers and Another (2018) The Fair Work Commission (FWC) at first instance refused to approve two proposed enterprise agreements of Aldi Foods Pty Limited
December 2018 Settlement negotiations backfire for ex-employee The Case Scicluna v Australia Postal Corporation T/A Australia Post (2018) The Australia Postal Corporation T/A Australia Post (Australia Post) terminated Mr Scicluna’s employment for misconduct. Mr Scicluna lodged an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The FWC organised a conciliation conference to assist
October 2018 Inappropriate out of hours conduct can be a valid reason for dismissal The Case Luke Colwell v Sydney International Container Terminals Pty Limited (2018) Mr Colwell was an employee of Sydney International Container Terminals Pty Limited (SICT). During a rostered week off, Mr Colwell got very drunk. When he received a sexually explicit video from a friend, he sent the video by
October 2018 Dismissal of long-term injured employee deemed fair The Case Kothandan v Transdev Melbourne Pty Ltd T/A Transdev (2018) Mr Kothandan was employed as a bus driver with Transdev Melbourne Pty Ltd (Transdev). In July 2016, Mr Kothandan suffered a workplace injury that resulted in him being unable to drive a bus for a period of time.
October 2018 Calculating personal use of a work motor vehicle allowance The Case Monteiro v Valco Group Australia Pty Ltd T/A Valco Group Australia (2018) In November 2017, Valco Group Australia Pty Ltd T/A Valco Group Australia (Valco) terminated Mr Monteiro’s employment. Mr Monteiro lodged an unfair dismissal claim to the Fair Work Commission (FWC). Valco lodged a
September 2018 Misleading social media posts provide a valid reason for dismissal The Case Waters v Mt Arthur Coal Pty Limited T/A Mt Arthur Coal Pty Limited (2018) Mt Arthur Coal Pty Ltd (Mt Arthur Coal) decided to operate its mine over Christmas Day and Boxing Day after completing a risk assessment and finding a replacement emergency response team. It advised
September 2018 Dismissal by Facebook Messenger results in compensation award The Case Morris v Alphaeus Hair Salon (2018) Alphaeus Hair Salon (the Salon) employed Ms Morris as a hairdresser. On 6 December 2017, the Salon owner and Ms Morris engaged in an exchange on Facebook Messenger. The Salon owner asked Ms Morris if he had an appointment the following morning
September 2018 Broad interpretation of ‘workplace complaint’ means adverse action was unlawful The Case Fatouros v Broadreach Services Pty Ltd (2018) Mr Fatouros was a project manager for Broadreach Services Pty Ltd (Broadreach). Mr Fatouros was aware that the CEO had stopped paying one of the main subcontractor’s invoices on a project he was managing. Mr Fatouros was concerned this would
August 2018 Life tenure guaranteed through employment contract The Case South Head & District Synagogue (Sydney) (Administrators appointed) (2017) South Head and District Synagogue (Sydney) was failing financially and administrators were appointed. The administrators attempted to make the Chief Rabbi of the synagogue, Rabbi Milecki’s position redundant. The administrators argued that the synagogue was unable to make
August 2018 OK to object to an employee’s choice of support person The Case Anson v Western District Health Services (2018) Western District Health Services (WDHS) employed Ms Anson as a nurse. Ms Ansen was alleged to have fallen asleep while on duty. At the time, she was responsible for 10 residents and seven acute care patients. A meeting was arranged with
June 2018 Avoiding redundancy payments: Not easy and not recommended The Case United Voice v Berkeley Challenge Pty Limited (2018) Berkeley Challenge Pty Limited (Berkeley) supplied employees to its related entity which had a contract with Lend Lease. The employees undertook cleaning, security and related services at the Sunshine Coast Plaza Shopping Centre. When the Spotless Group purchased Berkeley, another
June 2018 Inflexibility leaves employer exposed to damages payment The Case Khutson v Chesson Pty Ltd T/A Pay Per Click (2018) Chesson Pty Ltd trading as Pay Per Click (Chesson) tried to change Ms Khutson’s hours of work from 9am to 5pm with a 30-minute lunch break, to 9am-5.30pm with a 60 minute lunch break. While