Australia: Making someone redundant whilst on parental leave – is it automatically grounds for a discrimination claim?

No!

A recent decision has highlighted that an employee’s absence (whether on parental leave or some other form of leave) can, in the right circumstances, lead to the conclusion that that employee’s position is not in fact required.

In the relevant case a female employee alleged that she was “targeted” by management as a consequence of her pregnancy, the birth of her child and her parental leave, and that her redundancy was “manufactured” rather than being […]

By | October 26th, 2014 ||

Australia: Have you ever had an employee lie about their qualifications in a job interview?

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that a mechanic who mislead his employer about his qualifications in a job interview was justified in terminating his employment for, among other things, failing to fulfil the inherent requirements of the job.

In the job interview the mechanic told the employer that he did not hold a formal trade qualification, but that he only had six training modules to complete.

After approximately eight months the mechanic asked for a […]

By | October 26th, 2014 ||

Australia: High Court – there is no "term as to trust and confidence" implied into employment contracts

On 10 September 2014, the High Court overturned Federal Court decisions which allowed the general implication into employment contracts of a term requiring the employer to act so as to avoid damaging the relationship of trust and confidence with the employee.

In the case of Barker v Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the bank had managed a redeployment process following on Mr Barker’s redundancy in a very slapdash manner. The Bank sent communications to Mr Barker […]

By | October 26th, 2014 ||