Employees have implied duties by law and ones that are expressly included in their employment agreements. These include obeying and cooperating with their employers. This applies to complying with any lawful and reasonable direction the employer gives. If an employee refuses a work direction, this can result in disciplinary action. This article sets out your rights when an employee refuses a work direction.
Can I Direct My Employee to Do Something?
Yes, you can, as long as it is a lawful and reasonable direction.
What is a Lawful and Reasonable Direction?
Employers may give multiple directions daily at work, but how do they know what is lawful and reasonable?
Lawful
A lawful direction is a direction that relates directly to the employee’s employment (i.e. the employer isn’t trying to direct the worker to do something that isn’t within the course of their employment). It must not be illegal.
An example of an unlawful direction is to direct your employee to engage in discriminatory behaviour (e.g. in breach of anti-discrimination legislation).
Reasonable
The law determines what is a reasonable direction by examining the specific circumstances. Unfortunately, there is no black-and-white answer to what is a reasonable or unreasonable direction. Some factors that the law considers when determining if a direction is reasonable, include:
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the employee’s role, skills or qualifications;
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policies;
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practices in the workplace and industry;
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the terms of their employment agreement; and
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the terms in a relevant modern award or enterprise agreement.
An example of an unreasonable direction is to direct an employee to perform a task that is not within the scope of their role, skills or qualifications. For instance, asking a marketing assistant to organise the financials for the business while the Chief Financial Officer is on holiday.
Examples of Lawful and Reasonable Directions
- Directing an employee to attend an important training session directly related to the employee’s job.
- Directing an employee to turn up to work on time after frequently being late.
- Requiring an employee to undergo a medical examination to ensure they can safely perform the inherent requirements of their role (although this depends on the circumstances).
- Directing an employee to wear professional attire to work.
- Requesting an employee provide a medical certificate when on personal leave due to illness.
What to Do if an Employee Refuses a Work Direction?
An employee must comply with any lawful or reasonable direction from their employer.
If they wilfully ignore a lawful and reasonable direction, this could be cause for disciplinary action. Depending on the severity of their refusal and the direction, it may warrant a disciplinary meeting, verbal warning, written warning or termination. This can include termination, provided you terminate them according to your disciplinary policy.
Practical Considerations for When an Employee Refuses a Work Direction
You may find it expedient to incorporate standard directions in your workplace policies. Policies are also a great way to put the employee on notice that if they don’t comply with your lawful and reasonable directions, there could be disciplinary consequences.
As an employer, understand your essential employment obligations with this free LegalVision factsheet.
Key Takeaways
As an employer, it’s important to understand what constitutes a lawful and reasonable direction in case an employee refuses your direction. Employees have an obligation by law to comply; however, that’s only if it’s a lawful and reasonable direction. If the direction is lawful and reasonable and the employee refuses, you may want to take disciplinary action, including termination.
If you’d like to discuss whether a direction is lawful and reasonable, it’s a good idea to speak to our experienced employment lawyers, who can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, there is no black-and-white answer to what is a lawful and reasonable direction. Generally, the direction must be in relation to the employment and may not be contrary to any laws. Some factors that may come into play when determining if a direction is reasonable are the employee’s role, skills or qualifications, policies and practices in the workplace and/or industry, the terms of their employment agreement, and the terms in a relevant modern award or enterprise agreement.
An employee must comply with any lawful or reasonable direction from their employer. If they wilfully ignore a lawful and reasonable direction, this could be cause for disciplinary action up to and including termination, depending on the circumstances.
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