The summary dismissal of a worker who returned a positive drug result lacked procedural fairness but this was mitigated by the employer's need to ensure a safe workplace, the FWC has ruled.
A tribunal has warned employers that they must not only have anti-discrimination policies in place but must also ensure they are "communicated effectively", after finding an Aboriginal economic development company vicariously liable for race discrimination.
An FWC full bench has overturned a "counter-intuitive" decision to compensate a worker dismissed for his blatant disregard of his employer's drug and alcohol and OHS policies.
The NSW IRC has found that even if it had found an employee was unfairly dismissed, his Facebook posts calling his employer a "bastard" and "criminal", after the dismissal, would have ruled out reinstatement.
The FWC has refused to reinstate a dismissed teacher, because her school lost trust and confidence in her after she posted disparaging comments on Facebook about an unresolved industrial dispute.
A tribunal has backed a decision by YMCA NSW to not appoint a man in his fifties as a senior pool lifeguard after he referred, during his interview, to physically touching and wrestling troubled young men he was counselling.
Prior employee misconduct that did not result in dismissal but demonstrates a "pattern of unacceptable behaviour" must be considered when determining unfair dismissal cases, a Fair Work Commission full bench has ruled.
An FWC full bench has quashed a finding that BHP Coal unfairly dismissed an employee due to shortcomings in procedural fairness, after finding it reasonable for the company to have "leanings or inclinations" on sanctions to apply when its investigation indicated the worker had engaged in serious misconduct.
The ATO's sacking of a debt collection manager with almost 30-years' service has been upheld by the FWC after it found her failure to lodge personal tax returns over four consecutive years amounted to serious misconduct that warranted dismissal.