termination – HR Central

Annual Leave Loading

September 14, 2023
in Compliance, Employee Relations, HR Central, HR Software, Induction, Legislation, Payslips, Termination, Underpayment, Wages, Wellbeing
By HR Central
employees,Fair Work Commission,OHS,policies,Public Holidays,team,termination,workplace

What is Annual Leave Loading?

Annual leave loading (leave loading) is an extra payment give on top of annual leave to pay, which is usually 17.5% (but may be higher depending on the award or agreement).

Dating back to the 1970s, leave loading was introduced to compensate employees for being unable to access overtime and shift penalties when on annual leave, resulting in a reduction in take home pa

Performance Management Part 2 (Poor Performance)

May 10, 2019
in Performance Management
By Sarah Tidey
EBA,employee,entitlements,formal process,key performance indicators,KPI's,performance management,poor performance,termination

Managing Poor Performance – what to do when things don’t improve

You’ve had a conversation with your employee and made a plan for them to correct their poor performance – the problem is, it hasn’t happened. By this stage you may be feeling fed up, disappointed and keen to get the situation sorted. So, what happens next? Click here for how to start the conversation if you haven't already. You are now moving into a formal perfor

Termination of an Employee

December 5, 2016
in Termination
By HR Central
General Protections,Misconduct,performance,Procedural correctness,redundancy,termination,Unfair Dismissal,Unlawful Dismissal

Termination of an employee, whilst often unpleasant, is a common business reality. Gone are the days where employers could simply fire a staff member on the spot without consequences, and rightly so. Termination may occur as a result of:

Poor performance
Misconduct
Inappropriate behaviour
Redundancy

No matter what the reason for termination, employers must be diligent in satisfying provisions in legislation. So, why is this so important? It is simple reall

Unfair Dismissal, what’s that?

May 27, 2016
in Termination
By Michael O'Shaughnessy
Fair Work,FWC,termination,Unfair Dismissal

Unfair dismissal is when an employee is dismissed from their job in a harsh, unjust or unreasonable manner.

Before dismissing an employee for what you perceive as misconduct you first need to review your company culture and behaviours when deciding if someone has breached what you believe is standard. In a recent case, a sacked employee was awarded $296,650 in damages for being unfairly dismissed. This employee was dismissed after arriving drunk at at a conference one morning. He arrived late at the conferen

Dismiss Right. Stay Fair.

March 2, 2016
in Termination
By Michael O'Shaughnessy
Fair Work Commission,FWC,termination,unsafe workplace

It pays to dismiss right and stay fair.

Here is an example of how doing so, can save your business grief.... A forklift driver was sacked after breaking his employer's "golden rule" of operating a vehicle while a customer was in an exclusion zone. The employee claims he was unfairly dismiss and has taken his case to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) The Fair Work Commission (FWC), has ruled that his dismissal was unfair. FWC heard this was the second safety-related incident during the forklift operator's

Employees facing criminal charges

November 30, 2015
in Uncategorized
By Michael O'Shaughnessy
criminal charges,Fair Work Commission,investigation,legally terminate,termination

Having an employee facing criminal charges can be a sticky situation!

Do not assume that you can legally terminate the employment of someone facing of the criminal charges.

Employers must give any accused employee a chance to respond and to tell their version of events, no matter what the circumstances. When terminating an employee it is essential to follow correct process. In previous cases, the Fair Work Commission's major concern has been procedural fairness. Before you terminate an employee you must have

Termination – “penalty fits the crime”

September 14, 2015
in Uncategorized
By Michael O'Shaughnessy
FWC,investigation,penalty,policy,termination

Did the penalty fit the crime?.... Following his termination, a manager has failed in his bid to argue that, among other purchases, 14 massages were a "reasonable business expense". Over the past year, the engineer had purchased 14 massages, a blender, an Australia Day t-shirt, singlet and two boxer shorts, a pair of gym shoes and shorts, a three metre extension lead, a backpack, a duffle bag, two bathmats, a cooler bag, vitamins and a heater using his business credit card. Following an investigation, the company di

Termination of employment

April 14, 2015
in Termination
By Michael O'Shaughnessy
termination

The Full Federal Court has upheld a decision to quash the reinstatement of a ferry master sacked for returning a positive cannabis test after a crash. You would have recalled this from an earlier story and why it’s important is the finding that supports the employer’s dismissal in light of its zero tolerance drug policy. While on duty, the court was told, the ferry master misjudged an approach to a wharf and the ferry struck a pylon and he was required to take a urine test, although he did not disclose that he

Employee Relations – Termination

February 26, 2015
in Employee Relations, Termination
By Michael O'Shaughnessy
ER,termination

A Fair Work Commission has determined a company had a valid reason for sacking its Sales Manager for (1) poor sales figures and (2) post-employment discovery of pornographic images on his mobile phone. However, as we read so often "substantial" procedural deficiencies made it unfair. These included: - No documented warnings about the employee’s performance - No opportunity to improve - No opportunity for the employee to defend themselves - S