A Salvation Army recruitment agency worker accused of threatening to break colleagues' fingers if they adjusted the air conditioning has failed to convince the FWC that her stress disorder and a delayed dismissal letter justified an extension of time.
The FWC has recommended a large employer's human resources department do a better job of supporting employees returning after injury, noting a nurse's failed bullying claim demonstrates the difficulties workers face when HR is not properly involved.
A senior FWC member says the tribunal cannot issue interim anti-bullying orders merely because there is a serious question to be tried, while it has made it clear to a worker that such an order is not a tool to prevent her dismissal until her matter is determined.
The FWC has rejected allegations that a female supervisor's description of a worker as a "big threatening scary man" amounted to s-xual discrimination, finding no evidence that he was treated less favourably because he was a male.
A doctor has failed to establish in an interlocutory claim that a federal agency was motivated by "ill intent" in dealing with her critical social media posts or complaints about its handling of her mental health condition.
The FWC has taken a cautious approach in issuing an interim anti-bullying order restraining the co-owner and an employee of a retail business from belittling each other, suppressing identities amid "genuine health concerns" for both parties.
The FWC has taken into account that a legally-qualified Qantas ER manager with experience appearing before the tribunal is not a seasoned advocate, in granting the airline's application for legal representation to defend an anti-bullying claim.
A major charity has been granted permission to use external lawyers against a self-represented foster carer in a complex case the FWC says may have broad consequences for the anti-bullying jurisdiction.
The FWC has refused to issue an interim anti-bullying order against an employer that excluded a cleaner from a workplace Christmas celebration and refused to give her leave on Australia Day, but has criticised its "poor and clumsy" handling of the worker's complaints.
In a decision clarifying the degree to which workers can rely on their state of mind to justify late applications, the FWC has granted an extension to a cleaner "incapacitated" by stress after making serious allegations about her former colleagues.
