Case Law - Employment Law Handbook (Page 23)

Case Law

Contractor or employee? Full Federal Court casts doubt on entrepreneurial assessment

The Case Tattsbet Limited v Morrow (2015) In 2004, Tattsbet engaged Ms Morrow as an independent contractor. She worked as the operator for its Moorooka agency. In December 2005, she became the operator at Tattsbet’s Logan Central agency (the Agency). She had been engaged under consecutive independent contractor agreements,

Self-representation in an unfair dismissal claim

The Case Standish v Craig Arthur Pty Ltd (2015) When Mr Standish’s employment was terminated by Craig Arthur Pty Ltd (Craig Arthur), Mr Standish commenced unfair dismissal proceedings against his former employer and chose to represent himself. Craig Arthur made an application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to

Employing labour hire workers can result in a transfer of business

The Case Burdziejko v ERGT Australia Pty Ltd (2015) On 10 June 2014, Hays, a labour hire company, engaged Ms Burdziejko to undertake work for ERGT Australia Pty Ltd. On 3 September 2014, ERGT offered to directly employ Ms Burdziejko to undertake the same work. ERGT terminated Ms Burdziejko’s

Three million reasons to review your employment policies

The Case James v Royal Bank of Scotland (2015) Mr James was CEO of ABN AMRO. He was made redundant when ABN AMRO was taken over by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS offered Mr James a redundancy payment of $2.93 million in exchange for signing a deed

FWC takes sensible approach to anti-bullying orders

The Case James Willis v Marie Gibson; Capital Radiology Pty Ltd; Peita Carroll (2015) James Willis, a radiographer on probation with Capital Radiology Pty Ltd (Capital), sought that the FWC impose an anti-bullying order against Capital and two managers who had allegedly berated and bullied Mr Willis in response to

Health and safety adviser unfairly dismissed

The Case Leeder v John Holland Group Pty Ltd (2015) John Holland dismissed its health and safety adviser for allegedly misrepresenting a safety incident. It was alleged that the adviser had deliberately downgraded the severity of a safety incident he had reported on, in which a 2 kilogram section of

State legislation cannot override the Fair Work Act

The Case Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) v Queensland Rail Ltd (2015) The Queensland Rail Transit Authority (QRTA) was established under the Queensland Rail Transit Authority Act 2013 (QRTA Act). QRTA’s primary purpose is to supply labour to a related

What is reasonable performance management?

The Case Mac v Bank of Queensland (2015) An in-house lawyer applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) seeking bullying orders against five of her colleagues and her employer, the Bank of Queensland. The claim arose as a result of the employee being put on a performance improvement plan, with

Failure to pay students leads to Fair Work Act breach

The Case FWO v Crocmedia Pty Ltd (2015) Crocmedia engaged two university students on unpaid work experience for 3 weeks. Following this period, they continued their engagements as volunteers. The students were involved in producing various radio programs and worked primarily between midnight and 6am. Crocmedia described the students as

Incorporating a workplace policy in an employment contract

The Case Romero v Farstad Shipping (Indian Pacific) Pty Ltd (2014) While at sea, Lisa Romero, a second officer with Farstad Shipping (Indian Pacific) Pty Ltd (Farstad), had a conflict with her ship’s captain, Captain Martin. When Ms Romero arrived onshore, she sent an email to Farstad about Captain

Summary dismissal found to breach employment contract

The Case Mitchell-Innes v Willis Australia Group Services Pty Ltd (No 3) (2015) During a company training conference, employees of Willis Australia Group Services Pty Ltd (Willis), including the General Manager for NSW, Mr Mitchell-Innes, headed out for drinks after dinner. The drinks lasted into the early hours of the

Breach of Small Business Fair Dismissal Code

The Case Elton v Acupuncture Australia Pty Ltd (2015) Ms Elton was summarily dismissed from her employment with Acupuncture Australia. The employer alleged that Ms Elton had engaged in theft and fraud, claiming that: * an increase in deleted receipts from the cash book demonstrated the fraud; and * a drop in

Annual leave loading may be payable on termination

The Case Centennial Northern Mining Services Pty Ltd v Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (No. 2) (2015) The Centennial Northern Mining Services enterprise agreement provided for annual leave to be paid at a rate higher than the ordinary weekly rate of pay, allowing for penalty payments or a 20%

Fair dismissal for cannabis use

The Case Sharp v BCS Infrastructure Support Pty Ltd (2014) BCS held a contract with Qantas at Sydney Airport to maintain and service some of its equipment. The work constituted Safety Sensitive Aviation Activities (SSAA) under the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (Cth). BCS had a drug and alcohol policy

Does annual leave accrue during workers’ compensation?

The Case NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association v Anglican Care (2015) This case examined whether a NSW nurse who was on workers’ compensation was also entitled to have annual leave accrue during this period. The Verdict The Court held that annual leave did accrue during the period of workers’ compensation.