Case Law - Employment Law Handbook (Page 16)

Case Law

What constitutes industrial action under the Fair Work Act?

The Case Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union v Mornington Peninsula Shire Council (2017) Mornington Peninsula Shire Council (MPSC) and the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union (the Union) commenced bargaining for a number of enterprise agreements. The Union lodged with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) three protected

Breaching a Fair Work Commission order can result in a prohibition on protected industrial action

The Case Esso Australia Pty Ltd v Australian Workers’ Union; Australian Workers’ Union v Esso Australia Pty Ltd (2017) Esso and the AWU entered into bargaining for a new enterprise agreement. Members of the AWU organised and participated in industrial action against Esso. As part of this process, the AWU

Employees voting on an enterprise agreement must be representative of those covered by it

The Case Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v One Key Workforce Pty Ltd (2017) One Key Workforce (One Key), a labour hire business that provides contract labour, sought to have an enterprise agreement – RECS (Qld) Pty Ltd Agreement 2015 (Agreement) – approved by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). One Key

An employee’s reckless indifference to their health and safety obligations constitutes serious misconduct

The Case Graham v Walker Australia Pty Ltd t/a Tenneco (2017) Walker Australia Pty Ltd t/a Tenneco (Tenneco) employed Mr Graham as a Paintline Operator to paint vehicle exhaust systems with a paint gun, in a specially designed spray paint booth. On 11 May 2017, Mr Graham entered

Refusal of a request for annual leave must be reasonable

The Case Adriana Stevens v Horsley Park Supermarket Pty Ltd T/A Carlo’s IGA Horsley Park (2017) Ms Stevens applied for annual leave with her employer IGA Horsley Park. IGA Horsley Park refused Ms Stevens’ request for annual leave and claimed she had abandoned her employment when she took

Careful handling of employee information is necessary to avoid legal action

The Case Harrison v Department of Education and Training (Human Rights) (2017) Ms Harrison commenced proceedings in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after a note containing information about her health was found in the staff toilet. The then acting principal had made the note during a phone call

Employers are not qualified to make findings on medical matters

The Case Moody v C.T. Freight Pty Ltd (2017) CT Freight Pty Ltd (CT Freight) employed Mr Moody as a Warehouse Supervisor. In July 2016, Mr Moody suffered a back and hip injury, and made a workers’ compensation claim. In August 2016, Mr Moody returned to work on reduced

Avoid text-messaging employees about important employment matters

The Case Engelbrecht v BMI Group Pty Ltd T/A BCC Crushing (2017) BMI Group Pty Ltd T/A BCC Crushing (BMI) employed Mr Engelbrecht as an operator. In December 2016, Mr Engelbrecht agreed with Mr Faux, a BMI supervisor, to return to work after the Christmas break on 3

Valid employment terminations do not breach general protections laws

The Case Avenia v Railway and Transport Health Fund Ltd (2017) The Railway and Transport Health Fund Ltd (the Fund) employed Dr Avenia as its principal dentist. On 25 January 2017, a grievance was raised concerning Dr Avenia’s workplace behaviour and conduct. The Fund suspended Dr Avenia on full

Employment relationship represented as contractor relationship

The Case Putland v Royans Wagga Pty Limited (2017) Royans Wagga Pty Limited (Royans), a truck repair company, engaged Mr and Mrs Putland as independent contractors to perform clerical work. The couple worked largely from their home and exclusively for Royans. The arrangement commenced in 2005 initially involving Mrs Putland

Misrepresentations during a job interview may give rise to a claim for damages

The Case Carr v Empirical Work Pty Ltd and Anor (2017) Mr Carr commenced general protection proceedings against his former employer, Empirical Works Pty Ltd (Empirical), in the Federal Circuit Court. Empirical sought leave from the Federal Circuit Court to amend its cross claim against Mr Carr. Empirical is alleging

Dismissed for falsifying a medical certificate

The Case Halina Bluzer v Monash University (2017) Monash University employed Ms Bluzer as its events officer. Ms Bluzer travelled to Bali for dental treatment at the Bali Dental Clinic 911 in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Ms Bluzer submitted two medical certificates for the visits in 2016. In April 2016,

Inappropriate mass email can be a valid reason for dismissal

The Case Mr Andrew Pearce v Viva Energy Refining Pty Ltd (2017) Viva Energy Refining Pty Ltd (Viva) employed Mr Pearce as an operator at one of its refineries in Victoria for 27 years. On 25 November 2016, Mr Pearce sent an email containing highly emotive language to 170 of

Seasonal employees don’t qualify for unfair dismissal claims

The Case Bosley v Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd (2017) Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd (Kosciuszko) employed Mr Bosley as a full-time seasonal ski-patrol team employee. Mr Bosley had worked in this capacity for 13 prior ski seasons. His 2016 contract of employment stated his seasonal employment would commence on 11 June

The Fair Work Commission cannot deal with disputes about discretionary workplace competitions

The Case Hart v Domino’s Pizza Enterprise Ltd t/a Domino’s Pizza (2017) In 2016, Domino’s Pizza Enterprise Ltd (Domino’s) had a ‘Delivery Driver of the Year’ competition (the Competition), where its best pizza delivery driver could win a prize of $15,000. In 2015, Ms