Each week, Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions on workplace, career and leadership in her advice column, Got a Minute? This week: a serious assault at work, changing the workplace goalposts and applying for a new job when you have leave planned.

My son’s employment was terminated by a major supermarket chain after being violently assaulted at work by a drug affected customer, during which he sustained a broken nose. During the incident, there was no safe avenue of retreat and so to defend himself from further attacks he engaged in a physical altercation with the customer. To be clear, the customer struck him in the head with no provocation when they were attempting to steal a phone. He has since experienced significant physical, emotional, and financial distress. Is it lawful or fair under Australian workplace law to terminate an employee in these circumstances, especially when the employer failed to provide a safe working environment?

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I’m so sorry to hear about what happened – it’s absolutely unacceptable, and no one should ever have to experience violence at work, especially without proper support afterwards.

From everything you’ve shared, it sounds like your son was placed in an incredibly difficult position with no real protection or leadership response. Leaders have a duty to ensure that when critical incidents happen, the response is fair, humane, and anchored in care — not punishment.

I would encourage your son to seek independent legal advice or contact Fair Work to understand his rights, particularly around his dismissal and workplace safety obligations. If he is a member of a union, it would also be worth him reaching out to them — they often have expert advocates who can support and guide him through situations like this.

I started a new role a month ago and three weeks in, the whole company, including me, was asked to sign a new employment contract. There are now additional clauses around non-compete and working overtime. Specifically, it says the company has an expectation they can ask me to work up to 9.30pm on weekdays and weekends per the award rate. I feel as though I’ve been short-changed. The company would have known this new contract was coming when I accepted the job, but didn’t tell me. I’m now not sure what to do. This, and several other small red flags, are making me want to leave without another job to go to.

I can understand why you feel hard done by, especially given this change happened so soon after you started.

Transparency is a cornerstone of good leadership and strong organisational culture. While it’s not unusual for organisations to ask employees to sign updated employment contracts, I can understand why the timing had raised serious questions for you about trust and respect.