Case Law - Employment Law Handbook (Page 17)

Case Law

Account of profits order made for misuse of confidential information

The Case Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society Ltd v Ancient Order of Foresters in Victoria Friendly Society Limited (2017) Mr Corby and Mr Woff, employees of Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society Ltd (Lifeplan), used confidential information belonging to Lifeplan to create a business plan, which they then successfully implemented for their new

High-earning executives can bring unfair dismissal claims if an award covers their substantive duties

The Case Mr James Kaufman v Jones Lang LaSalle (Vic) Pty Ltd T/A JLL (2017) Mr Kaufman was a regional director of a multibillion-dollar real estate business, Jones Lang LaSalle (LaSalle). Mr Kaufman was employed by LaSalle from September 1989 until December 2016, when his position was made redundant.

Labour hire employers need to act cautiously where a host employer removes a labour hire employee from site

The Case Tasmanian Ports Corporation Pty Ltd v Gee (2017) Tasmanian Ports (TP) owns and operates a number of ports in Tasmania. It also supplies labour to privately owned ports. From 2009 until the date of dismissal, Mr Gee was assigned to work for a host employer. In August 2015,

Enforcing international restraints

The Case Naiad Dynamics US Ink v Vidakovic (2017) Naiad Dynamics US Ink (Naiad) is a company incorporated in Connecticut, USA. Naiad designs, engineers, manufactures, installs and sells maritime stabilisation, manoeuvre and ride control systems in the global luxury yacht, commercial shipping and military shipping markets. Until January 2017, Dr

Directors can seek stop bullying orders when bullying occurs in the boardroom

The Case In Application by Adamson (2017) Mr Adamson, who was the Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Inc (APY), made an application for a stop bullying order under s 789FC of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). Mr Adamson claimed he was bullied

Huge penalties awarded to deter sham contracting arrangements

The Case Fair Work Ombudsman v Grouped Property Services Pty Ltd (No 2) (2017) Grouped Property Services Pty Ltd (No 2) (GPS) engaged 51 workers in cleaning and clerical roles through a labour hire company called National Contractors Pty Ltd (NC). NC was registered at the GPS business address. GPS

Not all inappropriate social media posts should result in dismissal

The Case Colby Somogyi v LED Technologies Pty Ltd (2017) Mr Somogyi was employed by LED Technologies Pty Ltd (LED) for 13 months as a sales representative. Mr Somogyi’s employment was summarily terminated by LED in August 2016 following a Facebook post he made on his Facebook page. The

Bookkeeping business liable for client’s breaches of law

The Case Fair Work Ombudsman v Blue Impression Pty Ltd & Ors (2017) Blue Impression operated a Japanese fast food restaurant. Mr Zheng was an employee and he made a complaint to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) alleging he had been underpaid. The FWO investigated and found that Blue Impression

Employees do not have a right to ignore requests to attend medical examinations

The Case Laviano v Fair Work Ombudsman (2017) Mr Laviano, who was an employee of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), was not able to attend work between March and December 2014. Mr Laviano alleged he was suffering depression and anxiety, which had been caused by his work environment. Between June

Employer liability for criminal acts

The Case Optus Administration Pty Ltd v Glenn Wright by his tutor James Stuart Wright (2017) Mr Wright and Mr George attended an Optus call centre training session in 2001. During the session, Mr George went into a trance-like state and was observed by Optus employees to be behaving strangely.

Employee dishonesty can outweigh long service and a prior unblemished employment record

The Case Qantas Airways Limited v Dawson (2017) Mr Dawson, aged 50, was a flight attendant with Qantas for 28 years. Qantas dismissed Mr Dawson after an investigation that found he had stolen alcohol during a flight. Prior to making the decision to dismiss, Qantas asked Mr Dawson to respond

Dismissal may be appropriate where trust and confidence is broken

The Case Georgia Sologinkin v Cosmetic Suppliers Pty Ltd T/A Coty (2017) Ms Sologinkin had worked for Cosmetic Suppliers Pty Ltd T/A Coty (Coty) since May 2000. Ms Sologinkin was initially employed as a junior sales representative, then team leader and later as state sales manager. Ms Sologinkin

Terminating an expired enterprise agreement to assist bargaining

The Case Loy Yang Power Enterprise Agreement 2012; CFMEU v AGL Loy Yang Pty Ltd t/a AGL Loy Yang (2017) The Loy Yang Power Enterprise Agreement 2012 (Agreement) covered employees who worked at the Loy Yang open cut coal mine and the Loy Yang A Power Station. The nominal

Refusing to employ a job applicant because of a medical condition

The Case Shizas v Commissioner of Police (2017) Mr Shizas applied to become a police officer with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on two occasions. In March 2013, the AFP gave Mr Shizas a conditional offer of employment in response to his application. However, he later failed to obtain employment

Unlawful industrial action costs each employee $1000

The Case Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Mamudi & Ors (2017) A building contractor engaged approximately 130 employees to work on the WA Water Corporation’s new waste treatment plant. On 20 February 2015, a group of workers attended a pre-work meeting with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy