Workplace Disputes:

Workplace disputes, along with neighbour disputes, are usually the most stressful kinds of hostile behaviour that any person will ever have to deal with on a day to day basis (other than family related matters). This is because these are environments where an individual is exposed to seemingly constant and incessant hostility with little by way of relief or mitigation.

Workplace disputes in particular can be particularly taxing emotionally and psychologically because the hostility of a fellow employee or the employer may be impossible to deal with, without the risk of potentially losing one’s job. Often, people simply try to resolve matters on their own, or just try to bear the problem hoping that it will subside of its own accord. This may be successful to varying degrees, but there is always the risk that the hostility will simply increase with time.

Workplaces may have their own systems in place for dealing with workplace disputes. These may be compromised due to potential perceived bias or lack of impartiality. In these situations, legal advice should be obtained from a workplace disputes solicitor who has broad experience in dealing with these and related problems. Some of the more common workplace disputes may include the following:

• Harassment;
• Discrimination;
• Vilification;
• Victimisation;
• Defamation;
• Bullying.

These matters are more fully described in our section under “Employment Law & Safety Law”. Visitors are welcome to peruse the articles in that practice area for more information with what Navado can do to assist in those kind of matters. Other matters which may be related to workplace disputes may not necessarily fall under the headings above, but may be indirectly related to them as well. These can include:

• Unilateral changes to employee duties and responsibilities;
• Failure to consult the employee with regard to changes to terms of employment;
• Duress and undue pressure on an employee for the assumption of new responsibilities or the execution of collateral or further agreements;
• Unjustified termination;
• Refusal to pay redundancy payments;
• Refusal to pay statutory entitlements;
• Failure to pay superannuation;
• Breach of express terms of employment by employer;
• Breach of implied terms of employment by employer.

This is just a generalist selection of some of the common themes that arise from workplace disputes and litigation. Many of these may be mixed together where something in the second list occurs in conjunction with an element from the first list. Proper investigation will first need to be conducted by a workplace litigator before an assessment of the proper course of action can be determined.

Because of the nature of this area of legal practice, it is not unusual that there will be a cross-over of professional legal expertise. For example, questions relating to the employment contract may involve the general principles of contract law as well as the additional concepts relevant to employment law related contracts as such. Likewise, workplace bullying and harassment may also involve questions of human rights and discrimination on various grounds.

While the workplace is a commercial environment, many of the above concepts may be informed by concepts from civil litigation and even the criminal law. A competent workplace disputes lawyer will need to have a good grasp of these other concepts from civil litigation and/or commercial litigation to be able to provide a comprehensive legal advice on a workplace dispute.

If you require assistance with a workplace dispute matter, you may wish to contact our firm by telephone on (02) 9233 4048 or send an email to info@navado.com.au and make an appointment to see one of our solicitors. 

This webpage (and any material or wording appearing on this webpage) is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute any Legal Advice. It does not take into account your objectives, your instructions or all of the relevant facts and/or circumstances. Navado accepts no responsibility to any person who relies on the information provided on this website. We further refer you to our Disclaimer.