An FWC full bench has lifted confidentiality orders on a fiery dispute between the UFU and Melbourne's Metropolitan Fire Board over a firefighter's allegedly offensive Facebook comments, finding that parties to the dispute must accept the consequences of open justice regardless of any embarrassment that might ensue.
The FWC has criticised a company for fundamental failures of due process in a dismissal overseen by its HR function and warned that treating workers as human resources runs the risk of ignoring that they are "easily damaged" human beings "and when faulty they should be handled with more care than machines".
As Murdoch University continues to press for termination of its enterprise agreement, its lawyers say an FWC decision upholding the sacking of an employee who used his work email to send abusive messages to the ABS illustrates the deal's outdated provisions.
A tribunal has upheld the sacking of a general manager's personal assistant for storing more than 1200 inappropriate and pornographic emails in a "funny emails" folder, but has compensated her because it was harsh.
An FWC full bench has ordered a re-examination of the sacking of a worker for his "nonchalance" towards OHS obligations, lack of contrition after a workplace mishap and failure to wear safety glasses.
Information Commissioner Tim Pilgrim has upheld Australia Post's decision to deny a former worker access to internal documents he sought after allegedly hearing from a HR manager that two senior employees would be disciplined for "inappropriate comments" about him.
Airservices Australia was entitled to dismiss a firefighter keeping watch at a major airport's fire control centre for continuing to film a simulation of himself making music on an electronic device as an alarm sounded, the FWC has found.
The FWC has awarded $6,000 compensation to a travelling salesperson who was unfairly dismissed for making a "crude" and "immature" Facebook post suggesting a woman provided s-xual favours to her boss to win a promotion.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of an accounts manager for cosmetics giant Coty for making disparaging comments about clients in an email she accidentally sent to them.
The Supreme Court has ordered a school uniform importer and manufacturer's former business development manager suspected of taking confidential information with her when she left to start her own business to hand over digital files for inspection.
