Kerryn Tredwell

Momirovski, Douglas, Serafini, Naumcevski, Egan [2023] FWC 3299 (8 December 2023) A recent Fair Work Commission decision serves as a reminder that ‘tone and context is everything in many interactions at work’ and cautioned against being too quick to label behaviour as bullying without acknowledging that employees are ‘not angels’. Workplace investigators are often asked […]

Culture Reviews have increasingly become one of the key tools in the workplace toolbox for exploring ‘noise’ within an organisation or team. Whether in response to a series of informal concerns, anonymous whistleblowers, conflicts and tensions, or other symptoms such as low morale or high turnover within a team, a well-conducted Culture Review can provide

The positive duty on organisations and businesses to take ‘reasonable and proportionate measures’ to eliminate sexual harassment will become enforceable by the Australian Human Rights Commission from 12 December 2023. The recent publication of Commission Guidelines on the positive duty has many people questioning how this duty might alter the conduct of workplace investigations into

Waknin v Servcorp Administration Pty Ltd [2023] FedCFamC2G 634 (19 July 2023) When weighing two conflicting accounts in a workplace investigation, investigators should consider plausibility and seek to corroborate each party’s version of events. A recent adverse action case highlights the difficulties inherent in making findings of fact when faced with two conflicting accounts about

Consider a scene often encountered in workplace investigations: two parties involved offering conflicting accounts. No witnesses. No other direct evidence available. The classic ‘one person’s word against another’ scenario. How do you resolve the conflict? Is plausibility a legitimate factor to help choose between competing versions? A recent FWC decision has highlighted the role of

On 2 September 2021, legislative changes were passed to reflect recommendations made in the Respect@Work National Inquiry Report of March 2020.  These amendments are aimed at strengthening and simplifying the existing legal frameworks protecting workers from sexual harassment and sex discrimination in the workplace.  In this article, we explore some key implications for workplace investigators