Employment Law

DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS

Workplace disputes can arise simply because, when people work together, they are not always tolerant of each other or do not always act appropriately towards each other.

An Employer has a duty of care towards their Employees to keep them safe in their workplace which includes recognising and minimising hazards such as:

• bullying and harassment
• incompetent fellow staff
• substance abuse by fellow staff
• unsafe plant and equipment
• unsafe systems of work.

If any of these hazards are present in your workplace, whether you are an Employer or Employee, we can help you deal with and eradicate the problem.

DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES

Apart from the duties of the Employee set out in their employment contract, the Employee also has general duties that they owe their Employer such as:

• the duty to obey lawful and reasonable orders of their Employer
• the duty to look after the property of their Employer
• the duty to provide faithful service to their Employer
• the duty to hand over inventions created by the Employee during their employment
• the duty of confidentiality.

If you have an Employee that has breached or continues to breach their duties to you as an Employer, we can guide you through the process of taking the proper steps to remedy the situation.

DISMISSAL – WHEN IS IT FAIR AND LAWFUL?

The current state of the law provides certain protections to the Employee by providing them with a range of remedies against their Employer if their dismissal has been unfair or unlawful.

Dismissal is unlawful if it is based on reasons like:

• discrimination
• trade union membership or
• a temporary absence from work due to illness or injury.

The Fair Work Act provides that an Employee may make a claim for unfair dismissal if they have been employed for at least 6 months (or at least 12 months if employed by a small business) by the Employer and if they are covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement and their wage is not over the high income threshold.

The Employee will only receive a remedy if their dismissal was in fact unfair. Some cases of unfair dismissal that have occurred in the past involve circumstances in which:

• an employee journalist was unfairly dismissed after they accidentally sent a message to a government minister which was regarded as offensive
• an employee was intoxicated in an isolated incident in a festive situation and was later dismissed unfairly
• an employee truck driver was unfairly dismissed after he posted disparaging remarks about other employees of his employer on his Facebook page without being aware that the information was accessible to the public.

Whether or not a dismissal is fair and lawful depends on all of the circumstances of the case. Before you make any decisions to dismiss an Employee, it is wise to obtain legal advice first, so that you can approach the situation knowing what your lawful options are.