The following article is posted here for NRA members who operate in New Zealand. The article was originally published by NRA Partner, Positive People. This year New Zealand retailers are expecting to see a significant shift in the employment legislation landscape, and recent announcements signal the start of these changes. The following changes have been confirmed: Trial […]
We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our membership to our new lawyer on the NRA Legal team, Emma Treherne. Emma brings over 10 years’ experience in workplace relations and human resources management experience to the National Retail Association. Emma has previously worked for Australian Industry Group, a leading employer association, and in-house roles at […]
Written by Alex Millman Members will recall from previous news alerts that there are several pieces of legislation amending the Fair Work Act currently waiting for the attention of the Senate before they can become law. Foremost among these is the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017, which aims to make franchisors and […]
by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild Ashley Duddington v Mario and Clara Enterprises Pty Ltd and Morgan Trading Pty Ltd [2017] FWC 2958 Small business employers (employing less than 15 employees) are reminded by a recent case before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to use the Small Business Dismissal Code (the Code) when terminating employees. […]
by Sid Sidhu and Angela Szczepanski, NRA Legal Teresa Margaret Murphy v Banana Coast Community Credit Union Ltd T/A BCU [2017] FWC 2688 An employee who worked as a store supervisor for Banana Coast Community Credit Union (BCU) has had her application for relief from unfair dismissal, dismissed by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The […]
by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Georgia Sologinkin v Cosmetic Suppliers Pty Ltd T/A Coty [2017] FWC 1838 An employee who made highly offensive comments about numerous clients of the company was found to have been fairly dismissed by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), earlier last month. The accounts manager, who had been […]
by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild, NRA legal Case study: Laura Wrzoskiewicz v Easy Payroll Perth Pty Ltd [2017] FWC 2469 A recent case before the Fair Work Commission highlights the meaning of “genuine redundancy” and when an employee will be unable to substantiate an unfair dismissal claim. In this case, a payroll officer who […]
Written by Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal On 24 April 2017 the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission awarded compensation to a State employee who had been fired after pornographic emails, including images of naked children, were found in her work email account. The employer argued that the employee had committed multiple breaches […]
Summary by Troy Wild, Director NRA Legal On 9 May, the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee (‘the Committee’) released its report into the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 (‘the Bill’). Read the full report here >> The Committee recommended that the Senate pass the Bill, subject to three substantive recommendations. Recommendation […]
by Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal As a business, there is a great temptation that when faced with litigation to stick with what you know. Doubtless you will have engaged external lawyers before. Maybe they helped get the lease of your shop up and running, maybe they advised on your corporate structure, but […]
By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Since the Fair Work Act appeared on the scene in 2009, the legal environment around employment law has shifted dramatically. Any person can be represented before the Fair Work Commission by a person acting as a ‘paid agent’. Whilst this is nothing new, the employee advocacy industry […]
by Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Sometimes, ignorance of the law is the only excuse an employer can provide in their defence. Unfortunately, as we all know, ignorance is no defence. In recent years we have seen increasing exasperation from the courts when an employer contravenes an Award by underpaying staff, with fines […]
Written by Ben Desir and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Jia Ning Wang, owner and operator of the Fire and Stone Restaurant, has been received a $20,366 penalty, and his company Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services Pty Ltd has been penalised an additional $51,830 after it was found that he deliberately exploited young international students. […]
By Lucy Harper and Troy Wild, NRA Legal In February this year the Turnbull Government quietly issued the Fair Work Amendment (Notice of Employee Representational Rights) Regulations 2017 (‘Regulation’), which was an amendment aimed at removing a technical barrier to approval of enterprise agreements. When negotiating a new enterprise agreement, an employer must take steps to notify employees […]
by Ben Desir and Troy Wild, NRA Legal A number of us are looking forward to the upcoming Easter long weekend and attending ANZAC Day ceremonies. However, for employers, public holidays can be confusing particularly when trying to determine how employees should be paid. The answer depends on whether your employees are working or not. […]
by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Full Court affirms employer’s right to compel medical assessment Grant v BHP Coal Pty Ltd [2017] FCAFC 42 (10 March 2017) The Full Federal Court has confirmed that employers have the right to dismiss an employee should they refuse to attend a medical appointment to assess their […]
New legislation has been introduced in the Federal Parliament with the purpose of increasing paid parental leave (PPL) to 20 weeks, which is an increase from the current 18 weeks. The Government is seeking crossbench support in the Senate for the revised PPL scheme. The changes would mean that workers whose employers who have a […]
by Meaghan Spencer and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Staples Australia Pty Ltd has come under fire after Fair Work Commissioner Ian Cambridge determined that the company had an “unduly hasty and largely tokenistic” approach to meeting its redundancy obligations. In July last year, Staples tried to address a one million dollar budget over-run by making […]
by Meaghan Spencer, Workplace Advisor, NRA Legal Company forced to reinstate cleaner despite dismissal not being unjust A contracting company has been ordered by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to redeploy one of its cleaners whom the company summarily dismissed after he refused to wear his uniform as part of an intentional “campaign of disobedience”. […]
by Ben Desir, Workplace Advisor, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission has approved a franchise bakery’s enterprise agreement which cuts Sunday, public-holiday and late-night penalties in exchange for higher base pay, based on meeting the ‘Better Off Overall Test’ (BOOT). The agreement covers 232 Beechworth Bakery workers at six sites across Victoria and NSW, and […]