In a decision delving deeply into the statutory definition of bullying, a senior FWC member has observed that allowances should be made for "some degree of exasperation or tension" between managers and those they supervise.
The FWC has waved through a former company director's late unfair dismissal claim after accepting evidence that the deadline fell on the same day as her treatment for a heart condition allegedly exacerbated by her ex-husband "vengefully terminating" her employment.
Former Toll subsidiary Team Global Express has avoided anti-bullying orders through the resignation of a perpetrator and taking significant measures to remove the risk of further substandard conduct, but the FWC has called on it to address a "failure of local leadership".
An "openly gay" head chef sacked for allegedly molesting female co-workers has won $16,000 compensation, after the FWC found it "more than coincidental" that his employer decided that s-xual harassment provided a valid reason for summary dismissal before it emailed employees a survey full of loaded questions.
An accountant has won a rare interim anti-bullying order after the FWC agreed her employer "inappropriately" bypassed her lawyers by directly emailing a request that she attend a disciplinary meeting the following day.
The income and compensation caps for unfair dismissal claims are set to increase on Saturday, along with filing fees for a range of other applications.
The AFP has won the right to be represented by an external lawyer in a "complex" anti-bullying case involving at least 18 witnesses to be heard by the FWC in a fortnight.
A senior FWC member accused of trying to intimidate a company director during conciliation, descending into the arena of advocacy and stating that he engaged in sexual harassment has refused to recuse herself from hearing an anti-bullying claim against him.
The FWC has slapped anti-bullying orders on a gated community's body corporate and its treasurer who taunted on-site caretakers about their claim of "living in misery" over the Christmas period because of unpaid invoices.
The FWC has delayed a board chair's urgent anti-bullying hearing until next month, amid concerns that the regional development board's attempt to sideline her is "usurping the role" of the responsible federal minister "as only the minister has the authority to suspend the chair".
