By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Since before the introduction of the Fair Work Act it has taken more than just a valid reason to dismiss an employee. From providing an opportunity to respond, to not refusing a request for a support person – these additional ‘procedural fairness’ steps are viewed by many […]
By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Last week, Westpac’s workforce voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ground-breaking new enterprise agreement. The agreement, which was supported by the Finance Sector Union, contains a novel entitlement for transgender employees undergoing gender transition to access up to four weeks’ of paid leave per year. It also […]
You will recall at the beginning of this month the NRA had reported on the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) decision to introduce additional penalties for casual employees under the General Retail Industry Award 2010 (the Retail Award). Last week, the National Retail Association (NRA) intervened in the matter and filed written submissions to the FWC […]
By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal From 1 November 2018, retailers will be required to pay a new evening penalty rate to casual employees for work performed after 6:00pm Monday – Friday. In a decision issued 27 September 2018, the Fair Work Commission (Commission) determined that the new penalty rate (which is similar […]
By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal All too often, tales from the Fair Work Commission reveal the woes of what happens when employers are too trigger-happy in sacking their employees. When employers lose unfair dismissal claims, it is usually because they have jumped the gun and dismissed the employee without: gathering sufficient evidence […]
Written by Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal According to recent analysis by global job search platform Indeed, 67% of Christmas job opportunities in Australia are created in the retail sector to help serve the Christmas shopping frenzy. Last year, Australians spent in excess of $26 billion during the month of December which would […]
By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a decision handed down on 16 August 2018, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has thrown casual employment, and the efficacy of its use, into a tailspin. In a case which is likely to be appealed to the High Court by the employer, […]
From 1 August 2018, modern awards were varied to include the family and domestic violence leave. This means that employees covered by a modern award are entitled to take five days’ unpaid leave if they are affected by family or domestic violence. The changes do not extend to employees covered by an enterprise agreement (unless […]
By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Yesterday, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) president Iain Ross responded to reports commissioned last year, which urged the establishment of a ‘Small Business Division’ of the Fair Work Commission and the reduction of red tape associated with unfair dismissal and adverse action claims. The news comes following […]
By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In an unusual case before the Fair Work Commission, an employee has been ordered to pay indemnity costs after finding that she continued to press an unfair dismissal application that was “doomed to fail”. Ordinarily, parties to a claim before the Fair Work Commission will bear their […]
By Alexander Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Following a protracted legal battle that involved an initial hearing, an appeal and a re-hearing, the Fair Work Commission has held that an employer had no right to accept the repeated resignations of a distressed employee undergoing internal investigation. Bupa Aged Care Australia Pty Ltd t/a Bupa […]
Retailers this week may feel a little like drought-stricken farmers following a drenching, after the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its retail trade report for November. The nation enjoyed a rather robust jump of 1.2 per cent in total sales to $26.4 billion – three times the market forecast of 0.4 per cent – […]
Retailers naturally love a bustling store environment, but following 2017’s frenetic pre-Christmas rush and Boxing Day madness, on the back of what seemed like an entire year of uncertainty, it may be time for a little rest and reboot! 2017 certainly threw us a few curveballs – from the absurd politicisation of the penalty rates […]
By Alex Millman and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal Khayam v Navitas English Pty Ltd [2017] FWCFB 5162 Members will recall that earlier this year the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission foreshadowed that it would re-evaluate how the Commission approached fixed-term contracts in unfair dismissal cases, namely whether a contract ‘expiring’ meant that the […]
Last week the National Retail Association bid farewell to our office in Woolloongabba for a new headquarters situated in the bustling Inner-Brisbane suburb of Milton. While our old office had served the NRA well, in order for us to continue providing the very best service to our members, we felt the need to move to […]
By Alexander Millman and Angela Szczepanski, NRA Legal Ms Shahin Tavassoli v Bupa Aged Care Mosman A recent case reminds employers that care must be taken when relying on evidence obtained from workplace surveillance to dismiss an employee, and the need to afford employees procedural fairness even when it appears to be an open-and-shut case. […]
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 […]
By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal On 13 April 2017 Judge Hartnett of the Federal Circuit Court handed down her decision in Balemain v Mobilia Manufacturing & Anor, an application for lost remuneration and pecuniary penalties for sham contracting. The application named both the employer company and the individual director, Mr Bedros Bahar, […]
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 […]