Commonly employees present complaint documents which describe the alleged behaviour in broad terms (“I have been subject to constant bullying behaviour”), employing emotive language to describe the behaviour and the impact that it has had on them. Whilst this is to be anticipated and is perfectly reasonable way to raise a workplace complaint, that document […]
A reportable conduct investigation is necessarily different, and can sometimes be more complex to navigate, than other types of workplace investigations. In a reportable conduct context, it is obviously imperative that the investigator ensures all children are provided the opportunity to be involved (unless there is a very good reason that they are not) and […]
Undoubtedly one of the most frequent questions I am asked when I tell people what I do for a living, is “How do you work out who to believe?” As investigators we are asked to make findings of fact on the balance of probabilities. In considering all of the available evidence and arriving at those […]
It is not news to say that we are living in uncertain times which during which employers are forced to constantly evaluate the current and future operational needs of their businesses. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has this week confirmed that the Coronavirus pandemic has seen a substantial rise in unfair dismissal and general protections […]
In May this year, it was reported that “nearly half (46%) of all working Australians working from home in late April and early May”. If you are a HR manager, it might be tempting to wish that with such a large proportion of staff working remotely, instances of bullying might slow during these strange times. […]
Unless you are particularly blessed (or you’ve worked at Worklogic for your whole working career), we all have to endure difficult colleagues at some stage or another over our working lives. Whatever shape they take (be the serial (but lazy) complainer, the sociopath, the backstabber or the bully) toxic colleagues can, at best, make the […]
My colleagues will attest that one of my regular catch cries around the Worklogic office is “the process will save you”. Whether responding to a workplace complaint by way of mediation, investigation or workplace review, the temptation can be to jump straight in and get the process started. In our experience it’s critical to stop […]
It can be tricky working out what and when to tell a potential respondent about a complaint or allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against them, before a workplace investigation has commenced. First and foremost – health and safety! In considering how best to tackle any complaint, ensuring the health and safety of your employees is […]
It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it – the importance of delivering feedback in a reasonable manner My mother always told me not to put something in writing that I wouldn’t mind someone else picking up and reading. It’s similar to the “front page of the newspaper test” – that is, would […]
The recent anti-bullying order in the Fair Work Commission matter of Watts v Ramsay Health Care serves as a timely reminder of importance of ensuring that as managers and Human Resource professionals, you understand the requirements and purpose of your Bullying and Harassment policies. Specifically, it highlights that poor management decisions, in this case, the […]