A FWC bench has upheld a ruling that a club unfairly sacked a casual duty manager after accusing her of stealing a drink, but not before rejecting a presidential member's finding that the "theft" needed to be established "beyond reasonable doubt" and that the employer used an "intimidatory" dismissal process.
The charity defending a High Court case with the potential to extend duty of care to the disciplining and sacking of workers has warned that overturning a 115-year-old precedent would "disturb the allocation of risk" in every current employment contract.
Construction giant Laing O'Rourke has failed to block consideration of compensation and penalties while it appeals a finding that it unlawfully sacked a manager over an altercation at a party during a bushfire recovery project.
Sydney University will not have to reinstate a lecturer sacked five years ago for superimposing a swastika on an image of an Israeli flag, after a full Federal Court majority found he could not prove that his "incendiary" conduct fell under intellectual freedom protections.
Mining giant Peabody has asked the High Court to weigh in on the "critical question" of when redundancies can be considered genuine and the extent of FWC powers to determine how employers might avoid job losses.
In a significant decision on principles of open justice, gas giant Santos has won confidentiality orders on its second attempt as it defends its sacking of a former outlaw motorcycle gang member accused of s-xually harassing a 22-year-old apprentice.
A full Federal Court has clarified the extent to which employers must investigate alternative roles for workers caught up in restructures, finding that a mining company had an obligation to assess whether employees could replace already-engaged contractors before making them redundant.
The High Court will consider whether employers' duty of care and consequent exposure to damages extends to providing "safe" disciplinary and dismissal processes that protect sacked workers from psychiatric injury.
A former public school teacher has been awarded $10,500 in penalties after pursuing the ACT's education department through the courts for more than seven years over allegations it unlawfully dismissed her, breaching its agreement's job security terms.
The FWC has ordered compensation but declined to reinstate 24 DP World wharfies sacked in 2021 for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, finding that although the dismissal process was bungled, the workers "significantly contributed" to the situation.
