EMPLOYEES – DISMISSAL OF – AUSTRALIA

ANZ fires staff over harassment

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 30-Nov-17

The ANZ Bank has dismissed one of its overseas employees after he had sexually harassed a female employee from another bank. The incident occurred outside of work hours. His dismissal was reported to staff in an email from ANZ’s Kathryn van der Merwe; the same email also noted that other staff had been sacked for using illicit drugs at a work-connected event. Van der Merwe stressed in the email that ANZ staff could be dismissed for illegal activities, even if they occurred outside of work time.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Sexting with manager not harassment but baker loses job

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Nov-17

The Fair Work Commission has dismissed an unfair dismissal claim made against Coles by one of its bakers. The supermarket operator had sacked Jay Higgins after his manager had complained about sexually explicit pictures that Higgins had sent to him. Coles dismissed him on the grounds of sexual harassment and serious misconduct. The Commission found that sending the pictures did not amount to sexual harassment, but that Higgins had breached Coles’ codes of conduct in regard to respect and dignity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Union boss ousted over $98,000 in super board fees

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 22-Nov-17

Richard Duffy, the secretary of the Australian Services Union’s Victorian division, has been dismissed by its committee of management. This followed an external investigation that found he had retained $A98,000 in fees paid to him for sitting on the board of Vision Super since 2014 without appropriate authorisation. The investigation also found he had engaged Advanced People Property Management Solutions to undertake maintenance work at the ASU’s offices, for which it was paid $A48,000, without disclosing to the ASU that it was owned by a relative of former ASU secretary Brian Parkinson.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION, VISION SUPER PTY LTD, ADVANCED PEOPLE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Abuse ruling faces challenge from South32

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Nov-17

South32 will appeal against the Fair Work Commission’s ruling that the sacking of a Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union official constituted unfair dismissal. South32 was ordered to reinstate Matthew Gosek after the FWC found that the offensive language which prompted Gosek’s dismissal is widely used in society. However, Macquarie Group director Patricia Cross has described the ruling as "shameful". The issue of offensive language in the workplace has also come under scrutiny in the case against Westpac over the alleged manipulation of the bank bill swap rate.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, DIVERSITY COUNCIL AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Coalmine is not a convent when talking abuse

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Nov-17

The Fair Work Commission has upheld an unfair dismissal claim against mining company South32. The company had dismissed Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union delegate Matthew Gosek as a result of his use of abusive language and physical threats against eight co-workers. In upholding Gosek’s challenge against his dismissal, FWC Commissioner Bernie Riordan noted Gosek had been affected by a combination of alcohol and anti-depressants at the time, and that bad language was commonplace in the workplace. Industrial relations lawyer Stuart Wood says the FWC’s decision could be seen as condoning union bullying.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION,SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32,ILLAWARRA COAL PTY LTD,GLENCORE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Seven tries to gag reporter’s critical tweet

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 11 : 26-Oct-17

The Seven Network has declined to comment on claims that it has asked ex-employee Amy Taeuber to delete a tweet which directs Twitter users to an article she wrote for the MamaMia website. Lawyers have written to Taeuber on Seven’s behalf requesting the tweet’s removal. The article had been highly critical of Seven, and blamed unnamed female employees of the network for her dismissal after she made a sexual harassment complaint.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, MAMAMIA.COM.AU PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Seven under pressure over ‘toxic’ workplace culture

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 27-Sep-17

Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance director Katelin McInerney says the Seven Network’s dismissal of Amy Taeuber demonstrates that media executives must be proactive in addressing the issue of harassment in the workplace. Seven has come under scrutiny in the wake of claims that Taeuber had been sacked after lodging a sexual harassment complaint. However, Seven has denied that this was the reason for her dismissal, which is believed to have been due to allegations that she made disparaging comments about reality-TV show contestants on a blog.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

No-case sacking violates a basic freedom: Cash

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Sep-17

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says workers should not be sacked due to their views on same-sex marriage, while Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has urged employers to respect Australians’ right to freedom of expression. Capital Kids Parties’ owner Madlin Sims has caused a furore after retrenching a contractor who opposed marriage equality. The Fair Work Ombudsman would have no jurisdiction over the termination of a contractor’s employment, although lawyers say the sacking may breach anti-discrimination laws in the Australian Capital Territory.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CAPITAL KIDS PARTIES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, BRADLEY ALLEN LOVE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Dismissal actions crippling business: IPA

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 26-Jun-17

The Institute of Public Affairs claims that Australia’s unfair dismissal laws serve as a discentive for businesses to hire staff. IPA research indicates that the number of unfair dismissal claims lodged with the Fair Work Commission exceeded 18,000 in 2015-16, compared with fewer than 6,000 in 2005-06. The IPA’s Gideon Rozner says unfair dismissal claims take an unnecessarily long time to process, while FWC determinations are often contradictory. He contends that many businesses are paying complainants cash just to get them off their back.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Sacking over salesman’s ‘crude’ Facebook post unfair

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Apr-17

The Fair Work Commission has directed LED Technologies to pay compensation to a former salesman after it found that he was unfairly dismissed over a Facebook post. LED claimed that the post – which contained offensive language – was in breach of its social media policy which bans using social media at work. In his defence, the salesman had claimed that he was on a break at the time, that he was unaware of the policy, and that the post made no reference to LED.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LED TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD