A worker resigned of his own volition because he blamed the death of his dog on his employer, after alleged underpayments that he claimed prevented him from being able to afford the surgery needed to save its life, the FWC has found.
The FWC has, at the same time as rejecting the unfair dismissal claim of a university lecturer who "relentlessly" pursued a personal relationship with a student, held that he s-xually harassed her and that his dishonesty provided a further valid reason to sack him.
The "clear and unambiguous" wording of a separation certificate confirmed an on-hire worker's dismissal, regardless of the labour supplier's intention, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
In a warning for employers about properly educating workers on workplace policies, the FWC has reinstated an employee dismissed for breaching drug and alcohol rules, because the major company failed to ensure its workforce understood a key change.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a manager on the Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest-owned Lizard Island who emailed a former colleague's employment contract to a friend with HR experience in an effort to build an underpayment case.
Working without a valid visa defeated a Costco employee's unfair dismissal claim, despite the necessary permit arriving within days of his sacking, the FWC has found.
An employer has clawed back just a fraction of costs it incurred in defending a "weak" and unreasonable unfair dismissal case after the FWC questioned why it needed lawyers to face off against a self-represented trainee nurse who "was not a formidable opponent".
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a Qube worker despite finding she was treated less favourably than two colleagues over a safety incident causing 20 train wagons to roll away, but it has suggested the employer "revisit" potentially disciplining the exonerated pair.
In a decision emphasising the importance of independent medical examinations, the FWC has found it was unfair to dismiss a cold storage worker over an inability to endure sub-zero temperatures without first heeding his doctor's advice to trial a reduced workload.
