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A 'workplace right' includes an employee seeking legal advice
The Federal Court, in the recent decision of (Murrihy v Betezy), has confirmed that the making of a complaint or inquiry by an employee to their lawyer about an employment matter can constitute the exercise of a 'workplace right' for the purpose of the general protections/adverse action provision of the Fair Work Act 2009. Background The employer was an online gambling service. The employee - Ms Murrihy, was a manager with the business. Ms Murrihy made a complaint to the chief executive officer (Mr Kay) of the employer that her commissions had not been paid. The employee then threatened to seek legal advice if her commissions remained unpaid. In response Mr Kay threatened to fire the employee. Was there adverse action? The judge found that the conversation between Mr Kay and Ms Murrihy, where he threatened to fire her if she sought legal advice about her unpaid entitlements, had, in fact, occurred. Consequen...
16 September 2013The FWC provides an insight into the new bullying jurisdiction
Introduction With the recent amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 [click here to see our prior article], the Fair Work Commission (the FWC) will soon have jurisdiction to make various orders in relation to applications by workers who believe they have been bullied at work. While it remains to be seen how the amendments which are due to commence on 1 January 2014 will operate in practice, a recent decision of the FWC provides some insight as outlined below. Background Ms Harris had been employed by WorkPac Pty Ltd since November 2004, most recently as its Recruitment Co-ordinator Team Leader. She had received no prior warnings. In November 2010, Ms Maye was engaged by Workpac until her resignation in December 2012. Ms Maye undertook an exit interview in which she made various allegations regarding Ms Harris' behaviour towards her at work over an extended period of time. In particu...
6 September 2013Does an employer's refusal to permit a return to work part-time amount to a constructive dismissal?
Overview The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has recently found that an employer constructively dismissed an employee when it failed to accommodate her request to work part-time following her return from maternity leave. This is the first time that we are aware of such a finding having been made. The employee brought her application as a general protections dispute and the employer objected to the FWC dealing with the application, on the basis that the employee had not been dismissed from her employment by the Company. The employee's request for part-time work arrangements was made pursuant to the employer's certified agreement, which provided for a right to request part-time work up until the child reached school age, but with the caveat that the employer was able to refuse such a request on "objective business grounds". The employer denied the employees request on the basis the role required a "dedicated full time...
23 August 2013