Fraud and misconduct “grey areas” in the workplace
Yesterday’s Human Capital Australia magazine outlined a recent decision by Fair Work Australia (FWA) and the implications for dealing with fraud and misconduct in the workplace.
A supermarket store manager was dismissed for taking groceries without paying, however, the dismissal was overturned by FWA and he was awarded more than $15,000 in compensation as the matter was not properly investigated. The manager claimed that he intended to pay for the groceries at a later stage and in the absence of an appropriate investigation there was inadequate proof that this was not the case.
In his judgement Commissioner Ian Cambridge said that a “proper, comprehensive and balanced” consideration should have been provided before dismissing the employee. A warning or dismissal with a notice period may have been a more suitable response. The supermarket should have undertaken a thorough investigation to determine whether misconduct had occurred and to ensure their rights and the rights of the employee were protected.
This ruling has a number of important implications for employers. The main implication relates to properly investigating alleged misconduct. Another important implication is that employers should be careful about who they employ in the first place.
The old adage “prevention is better than cure” has never been more appropriate. Dealing with misconduct once it has occurred can be fraught with difficulty, as this case highlights. It is much easier to try to create a workplace where misconduct is unlikely to occur.
RightPeople has a range of psychometric tests designed to identify people who are most and least likely to engage in unethical and illegal behaviour within organisations. These tests look at attitudes, behaviours and other risk factors associated with wrongdoing. It’s called the Risk Management Profile (RMP). Specifically, the RMP identifies integrity, honesty, poor impulse control, stress tolerance and conscientiousness. Used in combination with our personality inventory it can be an invaluable tool for safeguarding your workplace against fraud and misconduct.
Contact us to find out more.
