Labour Hire Employee dodges the short end of the candy stick

Labour hire companies operate to connect potential employees to businesses of a particular industry that matches their skillset and attributes. Suitability is attained when the attributes of an employee overlap with the operational needs of the business, known as the host employer. However, the nature of the relationship between employee and labour hire company, in the presence of the third party host employer, can pose legal concerns and implications for the parties involved. Recently this situation arose in a case before the...

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Don’t take it so seriously – the difference between misconduct and serious misconduct

A pool supplies business in Sydney summarily dismissed its general manager for going “behind their back”, making disparaging comments about the business and “betraying the business”. Entram Pty Ltd accused its general manager of preventing a sale of business and breaching his implied duties to act in good faith. Judge Shenagh Barnes of the Federal Circuit Court accepted the employee’s conduct amounted to misconduct; however, it was not found to warrant serious misconduct and, therefore, summary dismissal. As a consequence,...

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Redundant one day and offered alternate employment the next equals no redundancy pay

DRW Investments Pty Ltd v Richards [2016] FWC 461 is a decision in which a large transport company having lost a major hauling contract found work for affected drivers with the new contractor. The affected drivers argued that they had been made redundant by their old employer entitling them to redundancy payments but the old employer disagreed. Commissioner Sams found that the drivers had resigned from their old employer to take up work with the new employer. As a result their employment had not been terminated at the initiative of the old...

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Swearing in the workplace

A recent decision of Horner v Kailis Bros Pty Ltd [2016] FWC 145 concerns a dismissal of an employee for swearing. In this case the employer got it right and was able to successfully oppose an application for compensation and/or reinstatement for unfair dismissal by the foul mouthed employee. The employee had been disciplined previously for swearing. The Commission found there was a valid reason for his dismissal because the employee did more than swear but also abused his supervisor. The employer wisely asked the employee for his version...

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