The Fair Work Commission’s (FWC’s) new anti-bullying jurisdiction commences on 1 January 2014. On 20 November 2013, the FWC released a draft anti bullying Case Management Model and a draft Anti-bullying Benchbook for public comment. In this post we step through how the new laws might play out in practice once a complaint is made. How will the FWC deal with anti-bullying applications? The FWC is required to deal with an application promptly. The steps…
The FWC’s anti-bullying jurisdiction is unique on the international stage. In the United Kingdom and New Zealand, there are no specific legal provisions protecting employees from bullying. Although, some helpful observations can be made by considering similar grievance regimes in those jurisdictions. In 2012, Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Services (ACAS), an independent body in the UK, received approximately 90,000 complaints in which employees alleged the employer had breached specific legal protections, including unfair dismissal and…
When considering bullying in the workplace, it is important to remember that bullying doesn’t just occur amongst peers or down the chain of command – managers can also be bullied by staff. This is often referred to as ‘upwards’ or ‘reverse’ bullying. In this post we look at a case of upwards bullying from across the ditch (McGowan v Nutype Accessories Limited AC 11/03 [2003] NZEmpC 16) and consider steps that might assist employers to…
Australia has experienced a rapid expansion in the use of smartphones since Apple launched the iPhone here in 2007. These devices have the capability, through a simple touch of the screen, to play music, download videos and even discretely record audio. Covert recordings were a feature of a recent unfair dismissal decision, Thomas v Newland Food Company [2013] FWC 8220 (21 October 2013). The applicant employee had, during his employment, secretly recorded conversations he was…