Mr Sathananthan (“the Applicant”) claimed he was being constructively dismissed from his employer (“the Respondent”) after being expected to work excessive hours well beyond his contractual terms. As this case will demonstrates, employers ought to be aware that resignation by an employee does not necessarily prevent an employee from making a successful unfair dismissal claim. […]
Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccine Policies Fair Work Commission Full Bench upholds Unfair Dismissal Sacking after Employee’s Vaccine Refusal: Kimber v Sapphire Coast Community Aged Care [2021]
The full bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has upheld a decision that the dismissal of a residential aged-care facility receptionist, Ms Kimber, who refused to receive a flu vaccine, was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable. The majority decision maintained that Ms Kimber’s employer, Sapphire Coast Community Aged Care Ltd (the Company), had not […]
Full Bench casts wide net for “regular and systematic” casuals protected from unfair dismissal
Periods of casual employment may be more likely to count as service for the purposes of eligibility to bring an unfair dismissal claim following a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission Full Bench (FWCFB). The decision emphasised that the pattern of a casual worker’s hours is not required to be consistent or predictable in […]
In-sourced Worker Given ‘Green Light’ to Pursue Unfair Dismissal Claim
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has recently held that a labour hire employee transferring ‘in house’ was protected from unfair dismissal after finding that the transfer constituted a “transfer of business” for the purposes of meeting the minimum employment period required to bring a claim for unfair dismissal, being 6 months, on the basis of […]
‘Unfairness’ in legal representation irrelevant – Fair Work Commission
A recent case before the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) has clarified that a consideration of unfairness between parties is “not necessary” when deciding whether to approve an application for permission to be represented by a lawyer or paid agent pursuant to section 596(2)(a) and (b) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). Valco […]
Workers on Maximum Term Contracts now have access to Unfair Dismissal
A recent case before the Fair Work Commission Full Bench (FWCFB) has given greater scope to workers under maximum term contracts to seek recourse in the unfair dismissal jurisdiction (Navitas). [1] Prior to this decision, the expiry of a maximum term contract at its specified date did not result in the employee being “dismissed”. This […]
Resignation Leads to Unfair Dismissal and Reinstatement: The importance of procedural fairness
In a recent unfair dismissal case1 heard by the Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) an aged care worker Ms Tavassoli (‘the Applicant’), who was successful in her claim that she was constructively dismissed, was reinstated due to significant deficiencies in her employer, Bupa Aged Care Mosman’s (‘Bupa’) investigative process. At the aged care facility where the […]