Workplace (e)ssentials June 2012

Full Federal Court find low threshold for employer response action
A Full Federal Court has found that an employer’s lockout was a legitimate response to “minor” industrial action taken by certain employees.

Full Federal Court confirms that suspending a benefit which is unlikely to be obtained still constitutes adverse action
A Full Federal Court has upheld a decision which found that an employer took adverse action against an employee by denying him the opportunity to apply for international postings.

Parties must take reasonable steps and make reasonable efforts to conclude enterprise agreements
A Full Bench of Fair Work Australia has upheld a good faith bargaining order against an employer who failed to make any substantive contribution to the content of a proposed enterprise agreement or offer the union proposals of its own.

'Wait and see' strategy results in employer losing right to dismiss employee for misconduct
Fair Work Australia has found that an employer had grounds to terminate the employment of a store manager with notice after he took goods home without paying for them, but its failure to act immediately meant it could not later rely on this misconduct as a basis for dismissing him.