In a rare case of an FWC member standing themselves down, a commissioner has found that comments she made about the "vexatious" applicants in a discontinued anti-bullying case could lead observers to question her impartiality when considering a counter anti-bullying application by the original respondent.
A one-time star employee's anti-bullying application has been rejected despite acknowledgment of his "devastation" at being placed on successive performance improvement plans he believed resulted from unfair interpretations of his position description.
A major medical practice's former chief executive has had his application for a bullying order against two doctor-directors thrown out by the FWC, which observed that "short of storming the barricades" he had no prospect of ever meeting the threshold requirement of returning to his job.
A senior FWC member has refused to stay a former Sydney Trains employee's stop bullying application while he pursues reinstatement through the courts, observing that mud would "stick" to his accused ex-colleagues as long as the matter went unresolved.
A court has thrown out an aggrieved former employee's bullying case, finding he could not substantiate claims of a "complex conspiracy" that involved a flatulent supervisor.
In the wake of the public spotlight on the Qantas "inclusive language" guidelines, one of its baggage handlers has failed to convince the FWC that tearing a colleague's shirt, shoving him against a locker and telling him to f-ck off back to his country were not sackable offences but rather a bit of "argy bargy" between friends, consistent with the workplace culture.
In a decision underlining the challenges for the Commission in managing vulnerable self-represented employees in its bullying jurisdiction, a full bench has rejected an employee's claim that a tribunal member's procedures were responsible for her mental distress.
As a former state manager's $15 million adverse action claim heads to the Federal Court in April, his employer has denied sacking him for taking sick leave, making bullying complaints or to avoid honouring contractually agreed incentives and bonuses.