ARTICLE · 19 JULY 2011

Evidence –Why you need it

Marque Lawyers

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Ensure that you gather sufficient evidence before dismissing an employee.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

Amber Sharp (Formerly With Marque Lawyers)

Brinie Scheen (Formerly With Marque Lawyers)

Louise Rumble (Formerly With Marque Lawyers)

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Here's a scenario you may be familiar with. An employee is cyberslacking. Let's call him Robert. The employer knows it. Let's call it Outdoor Creations. How does Outdoor Creations know? Because a search of Robert's computer usage reveals he has recorded 3,000 transactions on a chat line during work time. Robert also seems to have emailed copyrighted architectural plans to an external email address and changed the labels on the plans to show he did the work which he hadn't.

Outdoor Creations is not happy. Outdoor Creations summarily dismisses Robert once the discovery is made, even though Robert has resigned and his employment will cease the next day. Robert brings an unfair dismissal claim with Fair Work Australia (O'Conner v Outdoor Creations Pty Limited).

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