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$100k compensation for outrageous sexual harassment
A mature-age work placement student working at a suburban law firm has won a six-figure payout from her employer after repeated and severe sexual harassment. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was…
Is your L&D delivering?
What makes a learning and development program effective? There are, of course, many different elements that contribute to the success of workplace learning programs, not least of which are the…
Do less and get more done
Since the onset of the GFC in 2008, many Australian businesses have exhibited a cost-cutting mindset, with a particular focus on “cutting heads”. Productivity, performance and efficiency expert Cyril Peupion…
Training inadequate as “reasonable steps” defence
A leading IT company found its “reasonable steps” defence to be sorely lacking when a court found the internal training it provided to be woefully inadequate. At the Victorian Supreme…
Frivolous or ignorant? Bogus bullying claims on the rise
Yesterday, the Age reported a rise in workplace bullying claims putting small businesses under pressure and leading to time and money wasted investigating frivolous claims. Whilst raising awareness of bullying…
Tough boss or big bully? Part 3
In this final part in our series on real-life bullying experiences, we share another story from a reader who experienced bullying – with an unfortunate outcome. (All these stories have…
Far, far away… are remote workers more engaged and productive?
For some, managing workers remotely is problematic, especially in terms of management and supervision and ability to promote a common workplace culture. For tele-workers working from home, managing occupational health…
Tough boss or big bully? Part 2
What does it feel like to be bullied at work? In part two of our series on real-life bullying experiences, we share another story from a reader. (All these stories…
“Not in my Job Description” – Not any more… 6 tips for successful position descriptions
Position descriptions might seem like an optional extra – but in many ways they’re an essential people management tool. The good news is they’re not hard to prepare and they’ll…
Million dollar smile – smirk leads to firing, followed by unfair dismissal claim
A Melbourne concreter won an unfair dismissal claim last month against a firm that summarily dismissed him. The dismissal came in April after he either smiled or smirked during a meeting…
Got it covered: Pool company cleared due to “reasonable steps”
In a 2012 decision to award damages to a sexually harassed worker, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) highlighted the importance of proper policies and their reinforcement. In Menere…
Tough boss or big bully? Part 1
You hear a lot about workplace bullying and its cost to businesses, but it can be hard to get a real sense of what it’s like and what impact it…
