Published 26 July 2017 In a recent case, Mahajan v Burgess Rawson & Associates Pty Ltd, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia found an employee dismissed on the last day of her probationary period was dismissed because of her pregnancy and for taking personal and annual leave due to her pregnancy. Mrs Mahajan commenced employment…
Category: Recent Cases
Don’t overlook the support person obligation: Three key steps
Published 20 July 2017 Employers generally know that their must be a valid reason for dismissal, they must notify the employee of these reasons; provide opportunities for the employee to respond; and where the dismissal is performance based, provide warnings in most instances. However, employers often fail to consider the employee’s right to request a…
Falsified medical certificate “accidently attached” to sick leave application was a valid reason for dismissal
Published 20 July 2017 In a recent case, Bluzer v Monash University [2017] FWC 2536, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found Monash University (Monash) was justified in dismissing an employee after expressing concerns over the validity of a medical certificate. Ms Bluzer attended a dental appointment whilst on annual leave in Bali from 11-15 February…
Introduction of casual conversion clause in all modern awards
Published 5 July 2017 In a 4 yearly review of modern awards, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) sought for the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to introduce a similar casual conversion clause into all modern awards and alter 5 modern awards that already have a clause. The alteration would mean employees that met certain…
Informal performance management enough to dispute unfair dismissal claim
Published 4 July 2017 In a recent case, Etienne v FMG Personnel Services Pty Ltd [2017] FWC 1637, the Fair Work Commission found an employee who underwent informal performance management was not unfairly dismissed. Mr Etienne was employed by FMG Personnel Services Pty Ltd (FMG) as an Inventory Controller. In September 2015, Mr Etienne’s supervisors…
The 1 July changes that will impact your business
Published 29 June 2017 The new financial year is just a few days away and whilst this is usually an extremely busy time of the year for most businesses, it’s also prime time for employers to review their employment framework, including the impact of increases to the minimum wage and high-income threshold, changes made to…