Fresh HR Insights Pty Ltd

26/10/2026

26/10/2026

You can have a good reason to let someone go and still lose an unfair dismissal claim. That surprises a lot of owners.

The Fair Work Commission looks at the reason, but it also looks at how you did it. In a case this year, an employer had a warning and a performance plan, and the reason was accepted. It still lost because the employee got one day's notice of the meeting, and the decision was already made.

Here is the order that keeps you safe:
1. Write down the concerns
2. Give proper notice, more than a day
3. Let them bring a support person
4. Hold the meeting and actually listen
5. Decide afterwards, and write down why

If you are about to have one of these conversations, read the full article first. The link is in the first comment. Got a question about a situation in your business? Message me, I read every one.

26/10/2026

Here is something that catches a lot of business owners out. You can have a perfectly good reason to dismiss someone and still lose an unfair dismissal claim

If you are about to have one of these conversations, read the full article first. The link is in the first comment. Got a question about a situation in your business?

Message me; I read every one.


When to call me
Before the meeting, not after the letter. In both cases above, the problems sat in the steps leading up to the decision, and that is the easiest part to fix.

If you're considering a termination, my Termination Sprint ($695 GST) gives you the process, the letters, and the words to say, and I stay on the phone while you do it. You can see it on the services page. https://freshhrinsights.com.au/services/

25/10/2026

Someone hands in their resignation. What do you do next?

A small business in the news this week paid out an employee early and treated her as gone, before the notice period was sorted. The Fair Work Commission said that meant the employer ended the employment, which turned a resignation into a dismissal.

A few simple habits can protect you:
1. Reply in writing the same day
2. Decide if notice is worked or paid out, and confirm it in writing
3. Do not change payroll or tell the team until it is agreed

Our latest blog walks through all six steps and the case in plain English. Read it here: https://freshhrinsights.com.au/resignation-or-dismissal-paying-out-notice/

Need help getting an exit right? Our Termination Sprint can walk you through it: https://freshhrinsights.com.au/services/

25/10/2026

Policies have a bit of an image problem. For a lot of small business owners they sound like red tape, something big companies have and you'll get to eventually.

Here's the reframe I offer: a good policy isn't there to tie you up. It's there to protect you and your people when something goes wrong, and to make the right thing the easy thing on an ordinary day.

Think of the moments a clear policy quietly saves you. Someone asks to work from home and you have a fair, consistent answer. A grievance comes up and there's a known way to handle it. A performance issue arises and you're not making it up as you go.

You don't need a shelf of them. A small business is usually well served by a handful that fit how you actually work: code of conduct, leave, work health and safety, workplace behaviour, and a simple grievance process.

The test of a good policy is simple. Is it clear? Is it fair? Does it match what you really do? If yes, it's doing its job.

Which policy would make your life easier if it were finally written down?

25/10/2026

One week on campus is finished… and plenty of learning still ahead! 📚

Last week I started my Practical Legal Training with the College of Law. With the campus component complete, I now have about 29 weeks of assignments to work through, finishing in May 2027.

First up is Ethics and Professional Responsibility, followed by Civil Litigation Practice. After Christmas, it’s Property Practice, Commercial and Corporate Practice, then my electives: Wills and Estates and, of course, Employment Law. No surprises with that last choice! 😊

And because I apparently like to keep myself busy, I’m starting my nationally accredited mediation training program today.

This week’s training is online for all 5 days, with the final assessment next Thursday. A shorter course, but one I’m looking forward to just as much. The material looks interesting, and I’m keen to build practical skills to help people work through difficult conversations and resolve disputes.

Both programs build on what matters to me in my work: giving small business owners clear answers about their employment obligations and practical, step-by-step support to meet them.

A busy few months ahead, but I’m excited to get stuck in. One assignment—and one coffee—at a time! ☕

23/10/2026

A line from this week's article that a few of you have messaged me about:

"Legal in Queensland and acceptable at work are two different questions."

If an employee has been recording you, the law on the recording is not the end of the story. How you respond is. The full piece, and the free fact sheet, are here:

https://freshhrinsights.com.au/employee-secretly-recording-meetings-small-business/

23/10/2026

The most powerful words in a workplace cost nothing and take about four seconds: “Thank you, that made a real difference.”

We tend to overcomplicate recognition. We wait for the annual review, or the big win, or the formal program. Meanwhile the everyday effort, the person who quietly kept things running, goes unnamed.

People don't need much. They need to know their work was seen. Specific beats generic every time. “Great job” is nice. “The way you handled that upset customer this morning was really calm, and it mattered” is the one they'll remember.

• Notice out loud, in the moment, not weeks later.
• Be specific about what they did and why it helped.
• Say it in front of others sometimes, quietly one-on-one other times.

Recognition isn't a soft extra. It's one of the clearest signals that people are valued. And valued people tend to stay.

Who on your team deserves a proper thank you this week?