The need for employers to consider the individual circumstances of employees taking industrial action before they institute disciplinary action has been demonstrated in a FWC finding that a company unfairly dismissed a crane driver who belatedly joined an unlawful stop-work meeting.
Zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policies are back in the spotlight following the FWC's decision to reinstate a ship's master who crashed his ferry into a Sydney Harbour wharf 16 hours after smoking marijuana at home to relieve shoulder pain.
In a ruling that highlights the need for tribunal members to fully explore reinstatement options for unfairly dismissed employees, the Fair Work Commission has upheld an appeal by a Catholic teacher against a decision not to give him his job back.
A finance company has failed to overturn an order to pay $1.6m in damages to a sales director it initially dismissed on notice and then purported to summarily sack for allegedly sexually harassing a subordinate.
The Fair Work Commission has rejected an unfair dismissal claim by an overweight forklift driver after it found he had abused his managers after having received a final written warning for similar behaviour six months earlier.
The obligation for employers to let employees bring a support person with them to any discussions that could lead to dismissal does not extend to allowing that person to be an advocate, a FWC full bench has confirmed in overturning a ruling by Commissioner John Ryan that an executive director was constructively dismissed.
A FWC full bench has directed a Jetstar flight attendant to address it on whether it can consider reinstating her in the wake of media reports that South African authorities are seeking to extradite her over allegations of "criminal conduct of the most serious kind".
