The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has recently ruled that the sacking of a team leader by the Leighton Boral Amey Joint Venture (LBAJV) was unfair, despite the fact that he engaged in several acts of misconduct and sexual harassment at a work party.
The case raises vital questions for employers about ‘out-of-hours’ conduct and the fairness of any disciplinary procedure in dealing with inappropriate workplace behaviour and unfair dismissal.
Background
The FWC found that, at the party, the team leader for the LBAJV told a company director to ‘f–k off’ when he attempted to join a conversation, issued the same directive to a senior project manager, asked a female colleague for her phone number and said to another, ‘Who the f–k are you? What do you even do here?’
Tags: Tips & Resources • Workplace compliance