Contributory misconduct reductions in unfair dismissal remedies

Article


Southey, Kim. 2014. "Contributory misconduct reductions in unfair dismissal remedies." Australian Bulletin of Labour. 40 (1), pp. 24-45.
Article Title

Contributory misconduct reductions in unfair dismissal remedies

ERA Journal ID19740
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorSouthey, Kim
Journal TitleAustralian Bulletin of Labour
Journal Citation40 (1), pp. 24-45
Number of Pages22
Year2014
Place of PublicationAdelaide, Australia
ISSN0311-6336
Web Address (URL)http://www.flinders.edu.au/sabs/nils/publications/australian-bulletin-of-labour/
Abstract

When an attempt to conciliate an unfair-dismissal claim fails, arbitration may be called upon to determine whether the dismissal was fair or unfair.In the event that the dismissal is deemed unfair, Australia’s federal industrial tribunal can reduce the amount of compensation ordered for the worker if their conduct contributed to the dismissal. This article offers original insights about the application of contributory-misconduct provisions to unfair-dismissal remedies by Australia’s federal industrial tribunal. A content analysis was performed on arbitration decisions concerning misconduct-related dismissals made between July 2000 and June 2010 that awarded a remedy to the worker.
It was found that reductions to remedies were more highly associated with situations where employees engaged in production deviance, had longer service histories, and apologised for their behaviour. Within the 33 decisions that recorded a reduction to the remedy, three typical remedy discounts were identified: reduced back pay, no back pay, or part reductions to compensation. It is concluded that in broad terms, the reductions may provide some sense of restorative justice to the organisation in finalising an unfair-dismissal dispute. However, these reductions may have less meaning to individual victims where the worker’s misconduct involved acts of inter-personal deviance.

Keywordsunfair dismissal, employee misconduct, industrial tribunal, arbitration, remedy
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020350504. Industrial and employee relations
350710. Organisational behaviour
350503. Human resources management
Public Notes

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Management and Enterprise
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q2v6v/contributory-misconduct-reductions-in-unfair-dismissal-remedies

  • 1812
    total views
  • 9
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

The potential influence of prior work experience on unfair dismissal arbitration decisions related to employee misconduct: an exploratory study of decision styles
Southey, Kim, Lynch, Bernadette, Rose, Dennis and Hafeez-Baig, Abdul. 2023. "The potential influence of prior work experience on unfair dismissal arbitration decisions related to employee misconduct: an exploratory study of decision styles ." Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. 61 (3), pp. 582-612. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12366
The ethics review and the humanities and social sciences: disciplinary distinctions in ethics review processes
Carniel, Jessica, Hickey, Andrew, Southey, Kim, Bromdal, Annette, Crowley-Cyr, Lynda, Eacersall, Douglas, Farmer, Will, Gehrmann, Richard, Machin, Tanya and Pillay, Yosheen. 2022. "The ethics review and the humanities and social sciences: disciplinary distinctions in ethics review processes." Research Ethics. 19 (2), pp. 139-156. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470161221147202
Many of us welcome working from home, but universities show its dangers for women's careers
Peetz, David, Southey, Kim, Baird, Marian, Samani, Mojan Naisani, Cooper, Rae, Charlesworth, Sara, Campbell, Shelagh and Ressia, Susan. 2022. "Many of us welcome working from home, but universities show its dangers for women's careers." The Conversation.
Sustained knowledge work and thinking time amongst academics: gender and working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic
Peetz, David, Baird, Marian, Banerjee, Rupa, Bartkiw, Tim, Campbell, Shelagh, Charlesworth, Sara, Coles, Amanda, Cooper, Rae, Foster, Jason, Galea, Natalie, de la Harpe, Barbara, Leighton, Catherine, Lynch, Bernadette, Pike, Kelly, Pyman, Amanda, Ramia, Ioana, Ressia, Susan, Samani, Mojan Naisani, Southey, Kim, ..., Weststar, Johanna. 2022. "Sustained knowledge work and thinking time amongst academics: gender and working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic." Labour and Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work. 32 (1), pp. 72-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/10301763.2022.2034092
Beyond criticism of ethics review boards: strategies for engaging research communities and enhancing ethical review processes
Hickey, Andrew, Davis, Samantha, Farmer, Will, Dawidowicz, Julianna, Moloney, Clint, Lamont-Mills, Andrea, Carniel, Jess, Pillay, Yosheen, Akenson, David, Bromdal, Annette, Gehrmann, Richard, Mills, Dean, Kolbe-Alexander, Tracy, Machin, Tanya, Reich, Suzanne, Southey, Kim, Crowley-Cyr, Lynda, Watanabe, Taiji, Davenport, Josh, ..., Maxwell, Jacinta. 2021. "Beyond criticism of ethics review boards: strategies for engaging research communities and enhancing ethical review processes." Journal of Academic Ethics. 20, pp. 549-567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-021-09430-4
Minimising the gender status effects on performance for women in leadership
Murray, Peter A. and Southey, Kim. 2017. "Minimising the gender status effects on performance for women in leadership." Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2017. Atlanta, United States 04 - 08 Aug 2017 Briarcliff Manor, NY. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2017.14500abstract
Competent women, subliminal group hierarchies and executive leadership
Southey, Kim, Waldron, Ainslie and Murray, Peter A.. 2019. "Competent women, subliminal group hierarchies and executive leadership." 33rd Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference (AIRAANZ 2019): Global Work, Quality Work?. Melbourne, Australia 12 - 14 Feb 2019 Melbourne, Australia.
Can institutionalized workplace structures benefit senior women leaders?
Murray, Peter A. and Southey, Kim. 2020. "Can institutionalized workplace structures benefit senior women leaders?" Asia Pacific Journal of Management. 37 (4), pp. 1193-1216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-019-09654-4
How women executives survive the isolated echelons of the corporate ladder
Waldron, Ainslie, Southey, Kim and Murray, Peter A.. 2018. "How women executives survive the isolated echelons of the corporate ladder." Werth, Shalene and Brownlow, Charlotte (ed.) Work and identity: contemporary perspectives on workplace diversity. Cham, Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 85-99
Reprimandable offences: defining employee misbehaviour for investigations of employer disciplinary practices
Southey, Kim. 2012. "Reprimandable offences: defining employee misbehaviour for investigations of employer disciplinary practices." 2012 Regional Development: Connectedness, Business and Learning: Creating Sustainable Communities Workshop. Brisbane, Australia 20 Jun 2012 Toowoomba, Australia.
To fight, sabotage or steal: are all forms of employee misbehaviour created equal?
Southey, Kim. 2016. "To fight, sabotage or steal: are all forms of employee misbehaviour created equal?" International Journal of Manpower. 37 (6), pp. 1067-1084. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-12-2015-0219
Tolerating employee misbehaviour: where does our federal industrial tribunal stand?
Southey, Kim. 2015. "Tolerating employee misbehaviour: where does our federal industrial tribunal stand?" 2015 Sustainable HRM and Employee Well-being: An International Research Symposium. Sydney, Australia 04 - 05 Nov 2015 Australia.
Unfair dismissal for Australian workers: the hundred-year journey
Southey, Kim. 2015. "Unfair dismissal for Australian workers: the hundred-year journey." Asian Academy of Management Journal. 20 (1), pp. 147-164.
Neutrality in the Tribunal: an insular debate or a valid concern?
Southey, Kim and Fry, Simon. 2012. "Neutrality in the Tribunal: an insular debate or a valid concern?" Abbott, Keith, Hearn-MacKinnon, Bruce, Morris, Leanne and Saville, Kerrie (ed.) Fair work act: revision or restitution. Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia. Heidelberg Press. pp. 103-125
A framework for investigating participant perceptions of unfair dismissal conciliation conferences
Southey, Kim. 2012. "A framework for investigating participant perceptions of unfair dismissal conciliation conferences." 26th Conference of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand: Reorganizing Work. Gold Coast, Australia 08 - 10 Feb 2012 Gold Coast, Australia.
Employee misbehaviour in Australia: through the lens of unfair dismissal arbitration
Southey, Kim Sherrie. 2013. Employee misbehaviour in Australia: through the lens of unfair dismissal arbitration. PhD Thesis Doctor of Philosophy. University of Southern Queensland.
An occupational and gendered review of reinstatement and compensation for unfairly dismissed workers
Southey, Kim. 2012. "An occupational and gendered review of reinstatement and compensation for unfairly dismissed workers." International Journal of Organisational Behaviour. 17 (2), pp. 35-48.
Finding employees on the internet: a new frontier for small business
Southey, Kim and Lynch, Bernadette. 2011. "Finding employees on the internet: a new frontier for small business." Building Business Communities: Justice, Performance and Change Creating a Sustainable Scholarly Community Colloquia (2011). Brisbane, Australia 09 Nov 2011 Toowoomba, Australia.
Compensation equity in unfair dismissal
Southey, Kim. 2011. "Compensation equity in unfair dismissal." Building Business Communities: Justice, Performance and Change Creating a Sustainable Scholarly Community Colloquia (2011). Brisbane, Australia 09 Nov 2011 Toowoomba, Australia.
Gender and firmographic effects in unfair dismissal arbitration
Southey, Kim and Innes, Peter. 2010. "Gender and firmographic effects in unfair dismissal arbitration." O'Connor, Christine (ed.) 10th Annual Pacific Employment Relations Association Conference (PERA 2010) : Sustainability, Inclusiveness and Governance: People Management Issues in the Organisation of the Future. Gold Coast, Australia 15 - 18 Nov 2010 Ballarat, Australia.
Employee grievance research through an organisational behaviour framework
Southey, Kim. 2010. "Employee grievance research through an organisational behaviour framework." Australasian Journal of Business and Social Inquiry. 8 (1), pp. 39-53.
A typology of employee explanations of misbehaviour: an analysis of unfair dismissal cases
Southey, Kim. 2010. "A typology of employee explanations of misbehaviour: an analysis of unfair dismissal cases." Journal of Industrial Relations. 52 (1), pp. 81-102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185609353991
Stacking the Commission: has it occurred and does it matter in unfair dismissal arbitration?
Southey, Kim and Fry, Simon. 2010. "Stacking the Commission: has it occurred and does it matter in unfair dismissal arbitration?" Barnes, Alison, Balnave, Nikola and Lafferty, George (ed.) 24th Conference of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand: Work in Progress: Crises, Choices and Continuity (AIRAANZ 2010). Sydney, Australia 03 - 05 Feb 2010 Sydney, Australia.
Catching them is one thing, keeping them is something else: reflections on teaching first year university students
Werth, Shalene, Southey, Kim and Lynch, Bernadette. 2009. "Catching them is one thing, keeping them is something else: reflections on teaching first year university students." Studies in Learning Evaluation Innovation and Development. 6 (1), pp. 30-37.
Forward with unfair dismissal claims
Southey, Kim. 2008. "Forward with unfair dismissal claims." Labour and Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work. 19 (1-2), pp. 25-48.
A conceptual model of employee self reported rationale for engaging in deviant acts
Southey, Kim. 2009. "A conceptual model of employee self reported rationale for engaging in deviant acts." Lewer, John, Ryan, Shaun and MacNeil, Johanna (ed.) AIRAANZ 2009: Labour, Capital and Change. Newcastle, Australia 04 - 06 Feb 2009 Newcastle, Australia.
An analysis of unfair dismissal grievance arbitration in Australia
Southey, Kim. 2008. An analysis of unfair dismissal grievance arbitration in Australia. Masters Thesis Master of Business (Research). University of Southern Queensland.
Unfair dismissal: a returning concern for SMEs
Southey, Kim. 2008. "Unfair dismissal: a returning concern for SMEs." Australian Industrial Law News. 3, pp. 11-12.
Work choices and the negotiation challenge confronting employees
Southey, Kim. 2007. "Work choices and the negotiation challenge confronting employees." Abbott, K., Hearn MacKinnon, B., Morris, L., Saville, K. and Waddell, D. (ed.) Work choices: evolution or revolution. Victoria, Australia. Heidelberg Press.
The Achilles' heel of unfair dismissal arbitration in Australian SME's
Southey, Kim. 2007. "The Achilles' heel of unfair dismissal arbitration in Australian SME's." Hall, Margaret and Berrow, Geoff (ed.) 30th Annual ISBE Conference: International Entrepreneurship. Glasgow, United Kingdom 07 - 09 Nov 2007 Harrogate, United Kingdom.
A feminine approach to teaching a large, first year university course: and everyone lived happily ever after!
Southey, Kim, Lynch, Bernadette, Werth, Shalene and Hammer, Sara. 2007. "A feminine approach to teaching a large, first year university course: and everyone lived happily ever after!" Albion, Majella J. and Collins, Pauline (ed.) 2007 International Women's Conference: Education, Employment and Everything... theTriple Layers of a Woman's Life. Toowoomba, Australia 26 - 29 Sep 2007 Toowoomba, Australia.