Case law page 29 of 40

396 articles are classified in All Articles > Workplace policy > Case law



Repeated mobile use did not warrant instant sacking

A gym must compensate a martial arts instructor for taking the "unnecessarily harsh" step of summarily sacking him, despite the FWC finding it within its rights to give him his marching orders for constantly using his phone while supervising classes.

"People like you can't get pregnant" remark justified sacking

The FWC has upheld the dismissal of an Energy Australia employee who told one colleague she could not get pregnant due to her sexuality and suggested to another that he was related to Deepak Chopra because of his Indian descent.


Brawl at BHP Xmas party justifies sacking

The FWC has upheld the sacking of a BHP Coal mineworker who punched a supervisor in the face and asked a colleague if she had "fake t-ts" at a company Christmas party, but has reinstated another employee dismissed for serious misconduct at the same event.

Tribunal scolds BHP for procedural fairness defects

The FWC has admonished a BHP subsidiary for taking a "haphazard" approach to its disciplinary guidelines, finding it had a valid reason to sack a mineworker for her "deviant" conduct when she put a s-x toy in a colleague's carry-on baggage, but procedural failings made it unfair.


Exclusion from Christmas cheer "not bullying": FWC

The FWC has refused to issue an interim anti-bullying order against an employer that excluded a cleaner from a workplace Christmas celebration and refused to give her leave on Australia Day, but has criticised its "poor and clumsy" handling of the worker's complaints.

High Court ruling to constrain expression of political views: Academics

Academics are warning of a "chilling effect" on the ability of public servants to express their political views, following today's High Court finding that a government department lawfully dismissed a public affairs officer over a barrage of highly-critical anonymous tweets.

Dismissal rebounds on employer

Sacking a speeding truck driver who hit a kangaroo on a country road was disproportionate to his conduct, the FWC has held, finding he was denied a chance to explain or challenge GPS data.