Managing Employees: Performance, Investigations and Difficult Workplace Issues - 3 program recorded series

Program 1: Performance Under Review: Best Practices for Managing Employee Performance

Managing employee performance is essential for business success, but poorly executed processes can lead to disputes, disengagement, and legal risk. Employers must ensure that performance reviews, improvement plans, and disciplinary actions are conducted fairly, transparently, and in line with legal obligations to prevent claims of unfair treatment. This session provides employers with practical strategies to implement effective and defensible performance management processes. It covers:

• Ensuring structured and consistent performance evaluation methods to avoid bias
• Best practices for performance improvement plans (PIPs) and managing underperformance
• Procedural fairness in performance-related decisions to minimise disputes
• How to document performance concerns effectively to support future actions
• Recognising common pitfalls that may escalate into formal disputes
• Strategies for communicating performance concerns to employees professionally and lawfully
• Ensuring performance management aligns with contractual, statutory, and workplace policies

Program 2: Workplace Investigations - Getting It Right from Start to Finish

Allegations of misconduct, bullying, discrimination, and harassment must be handled with care, confidentiality, and legal precision. A flawed investigation can expose employers to unfair dismissal claims, adverse action disputes, reputational harm, and costly litigation. With increasing scrutiny on how workplace investigations are conducted, HR professionals need clear, defensible, and legally compliant processes to navigate these high-risk situations. This session provides practical, step-by-step guidance on conducting thorough, fair, and legally sound workplace investigations. It covers:

• When to initiate an investigation and key triggers for action
• Applying procedural fairness and natural justice in every step
• Managing confidentiality while balancing transparency obligations
• Addressing challenges in remote and hybrid workforce investigations
• Common investigation missteps that lead to legal claims and how to avoid them
• Deciding when to use internal HR teams vs external investigators
• Documenting findings and implementing outcomes to withstand legal scrutiny

Program 3: General Protection Laws and Unfair Dismissal: Riding the Wave of Recent Trends

In 2024, a notable increase in general protections and adverse action claims has reshaped the workload of the Fair Work Commission. Although the legal framework remains largely settled, emerging case law and practical experiences offer valuable insights into current issues. This session will explore:

• Categories of general protections - the various rights that underpin employee protections in the workplace
• When is a complaint founded on a right or entitlement?
• What are prohibited reasons in the context of adverse action? Examining the factors that trigger statutory prohibitions and how employers can inadvertently breach these requirements
• Who may make an application for a breach of general protections and the criteria that determine standing
• Insights from recent decisions and war stories