Australian Public Service bosses have pleaded with their workplace authority for help with false claims of  bullying and harassment  from the bureaucratic rank-and-file. Now the Australian Public Service Commission has warned that bogus bullying claims could serious consequences for those concocting them. The commission's new question-and-answer service for federal bureaucrats struggling with workplace issues has attracted pleas for help from public servants who fear being unfairly smeared as office bullies. The reports offer more evidence that the public service's workplace slackers are using bullying allegations to derail efforts to get them to lift their games. One manager told of workers, under pressure for their inappropriate behaviour or underperformance, telling "anyone who would listen" that they were being bullied. Bullying and harassment has been a serious problem in government departments for some time. In the 2016-2016 financial year,...

In another recent ruling, the Fair Work Commission rejected an employer's argument that a worker who claimed unfair dismissal wasn't an employee but a subcontractor. Pro-Built Engine Reconditioning claimed the worker only worked as needed, and that it verbally agreed with him in 2014 that it would set a wage per week and he would pay his own tax and superannuation. The employee claimed he worked full-time, was paid a net amount of $800 per week, every week, never issued invoices to the employer, and was given group certificates during his employment. Commissioner  Chris Simpson  found the worker was required to consult the employer before taking leave, had to catch up on tasks after he returned from leave, and had set hours of work, all of which confirmed he was an employee. Further, he was paid while on leave, he didn't advertise his services or have a separate place of work, and the employer supplied all of his tools, he said. Commissioner Simpson also rejected...

An employer has won a court order for a contractor to return its confidential information, some three years after they parted ways on unfriendly terms. Blue Badge Insurance Australia retained the contractor between April 2013 and November 2014 to provide advice on regulatory and compliance issues, and the end of the assignment was not "amicable". Blue Badge then reminded the contractor about her confidentiality obligations, which included that she must return or destroy all documents, electronic storage media and other materials relating to or containing its confidential business information. Blue Badge took court action after its numerous attempts to recover the documents failed, and NSW Supreme Court Justice  Francois Kunc  delivered his judgment on the same day as the hearing in the contractor's absence, satisfied that she "deliberately refused to engage" with the Court, and likely still had Blue Badge's confidential information in her possession. ...

An anaesthetist who was dismissed for being intoxicated on the job has been cleared to return to work. Dr Michal Petr left the operating theatre when his patient was still unconscious and without transferring the job to another co-worker at Wollongong Hospital in May 2016. The 49-year-old was later discovered intoxicated in a locked hospital room after he consumed six to eight drinks. Dr Petr’s position as a visiting medical officer at Wollongong Hospital was terminated, but he lodged a protest under a legal provision that gives practitioners the right of appeal to the minister. The committee of review found Dr Petr should be re-employed as an anaesthetist - with the condition of a daily breath test – and that he is “unlikely” to relapse, according to Fairfax Media. Dr Petr's appeal to return to work was supported by many of his anaesthesia co-workers and his personal psychiatrist who argued that he had changed his ways. He has now been able to find a job at Shellharbour Private Ho...

When children are experiencing bullying in the playground, or our teens are being bullied across social media, we feel outrage and as a community, we tend to rally behind the victims, advocating for their rights to exist in a world free from victimisation and harassment.  We understand that the emotional, psychological and physical impact of bullying changes the brain chemistry of our children and can impact the way they perceive themselves and the world. Research out of Yale University indicates that bullied victims are seven to nine per cent more likely to consider suicide. We run anti-bullying programs in schools. And yet, when we grow up and enter the workplace, our staunch advocacy for bully victims is silenced. Workplace bullying is defined as repeated ‘unreasonable behaviour’ directed towards a worker or a group of workers resulting in a risk to health and safety. It often involves an abuse of power and the incidents of bullying are deliberate and targeted with the inte...

The NSW Police Force has been ordered to reinstate an employee who lost his temper at work, abused his supervisors and labelled officers 'a bunch of f***ing bludgers'. Although a court ruled such conduct could not be tolerated or excused, it found that mitigating factors rendered the dismissal unfair. Background  John Fleming was employed as an imaging technician with the Forensic Service Group frm October 2000 until his dismissal in July 2016. The NSW Police Force alleged Mr Fleming: breached a direction not to work flex time without approval abused and swore at supervisors, and rode his bicycle in a reckless manner on police property.  Dispute over flex time At the heart of the alleged misconduct was an ongoing dispute over Mr Fleming's right to work flex time. The commission heard that on several occasions Mr Fleming became agitated and frustrated when his requests to work flex time were refused. During one altercation Mr Fleming told his supervising sergean...

A former BT Financial Group executive is suing  Westpac’ s wealth management arm for past and future economic loss after he was terminated from his role as chief operating officer of the advice unit. Wes Hall is seeking $600,000 in compensation and is claiming he was dismissed after raising "serious concerns" about the quality of advice at BT. However, BT is arguing that the 42-year-old was terminated because his behaviour at work functions had been “inappropriate” and he "lacked judgment and was ineffective as a leader". It is also alleged that Hall supplied drugs to colleagues at work functions, however there was insufficient evidence to support this. Hall said in a statement of claim filed in the Federal Circuit Court that in October 2015 he expressed serious concerns about the quality of financial advice to BT clients. BT’s defence claims that after Hall had been appointed to the COO of advice role, the company became concerned about his performance and schedule...

The Fair Work Commission has decided despite having “considerable sympathy” for a staff member who says he was told it was okay to take items from an IGA store without paying, his employer was within its right to sack him. In an  unfair dismissal case decision  handed down yesterday, Fair Work Commission deputy president Reg Hamilton ruled it was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable for a director of the Castlemaine IGA supermarket to dismiss a staff member who was found to have left the store with three items he had not paid for. The Commission heard that on February 7, the director stopped and searched the staff member and found the three items that were being removed from the store. Police were called but no charges were laid, and the staff member was summarily dismissed that day. The employer had clear policies in place around the removal of stock, and could indicate several aspects of its code of conduct policies that prohibited this. However, when launchi...

Former public hospital boss Jane Holden has launched an appeal against the Supreme Court’s dismissal of her $2 million unfair sacking claim. Ms Holden was dismissed as the acting chief executive of Tasmanian Health Organisation South in 2014, soon after the release of a Tasmanian Integrity Commission report into the health system. Ms Holden sued the State Government, seeking payment equal to the balance of her five-year contract, plus for another five-year term, equal to nearly $2 million. Earlier this month, Justice Shan Tennent ruled in the Government’s favour, dismissing Ms Holden’s claim in its entirety and ordering she pay the Government’s costs of defending the civil action. Ms Holden’s legal team claimed she was sacked as a result of findings made by the Integrity Commission. Ms Holden rejected those findings when she gave evidence during her week-long civil case last year. She was made redundant with a $211,000 severance payment by Health Minister  ...

In an industry that favours youth over experience, the best defence against age discrimination may be avoiding becoming a victim in the first place How old is too old to work in IT? That depends on who is doing the hiring and paying the salaries of IT pros. But one thing is for certain: Widespread age discrimination has become a central issue, affecting many people working or seeking work in today’s IT industry, according to legal and career experts. “Large percentages of IT professionals see age discrimination as a serious problem, and leaders in the tech industry boast of their preference for young workers,” says Cathy Ventrell-Monsees, senior attorney adviser at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee because of a person's race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information, or age. Although laws again...

A Chevron Australia employee who was terminated for using a racist slur has been found to have been unfairly dismissed, the  Fair Work Commission  has ruled. The FWC found dismissal was too severe for the offence and the workers' actions were "careless rather than involving reckless indifference". However, the FWC did not award compensation for lost remuneration, finding the employee had caused offence to employees and had a responsibility to Chevron to comply with its policies. HRD  contacted Chevron for comment and a spokesperson said the company respects the FWC’s decision as an independent arbiter. “Chevron Australia is fully committed to providing a diverse and inclusive work environment which is free from unlawful discrimination and where individual differences are respected,” said the statement. “This commitment is reflected in policies, training and associated programs.” The employee was on a bus to Chevron’s Gorgon project on Western Australia’s Barrow Island whe...