Employers are likely to rely more heavily on zero tolerance drug and alcohol policies to discipline or dismiss employees, even when there is no evidence of impairment, after an important full Federal Court ruling yesterday.
In its first full bench examination of the Fair Work Act's reinstatement provisions, the FWC has ruled it has no power to attach conditions to orders returning dismissed workers to their jobs.
A university did not breach a lecturer's employment contract or its duty of care by failing to make progress with complaints he lodged against his superiors under the institution's grievance policy, a court has ruled.
Employers in safety-critical industries might be entitled to enforce zero tolerance policies because there is no scientific test for impairment arising from cannabis use, a Fair Work Commission full bench has suggested.
The Fair Work Commission has commended BHP Coal's approach to disciplining a tanker driver whose unintentional overwatering of a road at its Peak Downs Mine caused a rollover that wrote off a $1.2m truck and injured a colleague.
A company had a valid reason for sacking its sales manager, including the post-employment discovery of pornographic images on his mobile phone, but "substantial" procedural deficiencies made the dismissal unfair, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A major employer-clientele law firm is predicting that unions will become more aggressive in their pursuit of wage and job security claims this year, and that employers will respond in kind by seeking to unilaterally end bargaining negotiations and turning to regulators like the ACCC.
Two mineworkers sacked for breaching "lifesaving" rules at a mine owned and operated by BHP Coal have been reinstated after the Fair Work Commission found their dismissals disproportionate and inconsistent.
A shipping company breached an officer's contract of employment and failed to follow its discrimination policy when it conducted a flawed investigation into alleged bullying by her captain, a full Federal Court has ruled.
