Violence Valid Ground for Dismissal
The Fair Work Commission (in the case of Sekirski v Scope (Vic) Ltd [2017] FWC 1200) has found that an employee who assaulted a co-worker by striking her in the face was validly dismissed.
Stif Sekirski commenced employment as a Disability Support Worker with Scope (Vic) Ltd in November 2014.
Mr Sekirski’s employment was terminated on 2 September 2016 on grounds of serious misconduct. It was alleged that Mr Sekirski punched a co-worker in the face, then called her a bit** and threw a chair in her direction.
The FWC was satisfied that this conduct had occurred, and held that this conduct provided Scope with a valid reason to terminate Mr Sekirski’s employment.
It is important that when confronted with matters involving violence in the workplace employers ensure that they conduct a timely and thorough investigation.
We recommend that even if summary dismissal is a likely outcome you should still afford the person subject of the complaint or misconduct the opportunity to respond to the allegation and at least have an opportunity to explain themselves before a final decision is made.
Australian workplace Training & Investigation (AWPTI) can assist with investigation services, the cost of an investigation will in many cases be far the less than the cost of not doing one and the stress of having to defend your actions with evidence
AWPTI - workplace investigation Sydney and through-out NSW, QLD and Victoria. Workplace training national wide
Misconduct investigations, bullying investigations, harassment investigations & sexual harassment investigations, complaint investigations, grievance investigations, discrimination investigations
www.awpti.com.au
http://awpti.com.au/investigations/
The Fair Work Commission (in the case of Sekirski v Scope (Vic) Ltd [2017] FWC 1200) has found that an employee who assaulted a co-worker by striking her in the face was validly dismissed.
Stif Sekirski commenced employment as a Disability Support Worker with Scope (Vic) Ltd in November 2014.
Mr Sekirski’s employment was terminated on 2 September 2016 on grounds of serious misconduct. It was alleged that Mr Sekirski punched a co-worker in the face, then called her a bit** and threw a chair in her direction.
The FWC was satisfied that this conduct had occurred, and held that this conduct provided Scope with a valid reason to terminate Mr Sekirski’s employment.
It is important that when confronted with matters involving violence in the workplace employers ensure that they conduct a timely and thorough investigation.
We recommend that even if summary dismissal is a likely outcome you should still afford the person subject of the complaint or misconduct the opportunity to respond to the allegation and at least have an opportunity to explain themselves before a final decision is made.
Australian workplace Training & Investigation (AWPTI) can assist with investigation services, the cost of an investigation will in many cases be far the less than the cost of not doing one and the stress of having to defend your actions with evidence
AWPTI - workplace investigation Sydney and through-out NSW, QLD and Victoria. Workplace training national wide
Misconduct investigations, bullying investigations, harassment investigations & sexual harassment investigations, complaint investigations, grievance investigations, discrimination investigations
www.awpti.com.au
http://awpti.com.au/investigations/
As workplace bullying involves one or more forms of personal 'violence', I take the view that all workplace bullying should be treated as Misconduct, and seriously damaging bullying - where there are physical consequences as bad as, or even worse than, say, a punch in the face - should be grounds for dismissal.
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