The head of the Fair Work Commission's anti-bullying panel has highlighted the key cases in the new jurisdiction's first year, and revealed that many employers are failing to follow their own internal procedures when dealing with bullying complaints.
A bank's management of an under-performing lawyer fell short of "the best human resources practice" and was not "entirely beyond criticism", but did not constitute bullying under the Fair Work Act, a senior member of the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
The Fair Work Commission has revoked its only substantive bullying order, after the worker who complained about her male colleague told the tribunal their workplace conflict was now "negligible".
The FWC has again refused to suppress the names of an employer and workers facing allegations of bullying, finding that the principle of open justice meant it shouldn't make confidentiality orders.
Global smelting company Nyrstar had a valid reason to sack two workers for a history of bullying behaviour, but its failure to deal with the conduct over a long period and to put specific allegations to them meant the dismissals were unfair, the FWC has ruled.
A part-time HR manager's bullying claim against her chief executive backfired when her employer discovered while investigating her complaint that she had been using its resources to do work for other organisations.
A senior member of the Fair Work Commission has told employers they need strong workplace conduct policies and grievance procedures and should select line managers with good interpersonal skills, to help them prevent bullying claims.
A new report from a major employment law firm predicts that the Senate will pass the Abbott Government's Fair Work Act and building industry amendments, suggests the next reforms will be limits on industrial action and productivity requirements for enterprise agreements, and highlights the lower than expected activity in the FWC's anti-bullying jurisdiction.
The Fair Work Commission has refused to suppress the name of an employer and an individual subject to a bullying claim, but has warned the employee that its ruling is not a green light to publicly reveal their identity before the hearing.
