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 Zoe Brodie and Alex Millman, NRA Legal A recent finding of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal highlights how employers can be liable, even unwittingly, for discriminating against their employees. The Facts Mr Ferris was employed by the Department of Justice and Regulation at Langi Kal prison in Victoria. Unknown to his employer, Mr […]
By Alex Millman and Victoria Hansen, NRA Legal In June this year, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins launched a dedicated national inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace, conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). This Inquiry coincides with the AHRC’s Fourth National Survey into Workplace Sexual Harassment, which has been run every five […]
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 […]
As the approaching Christmas season brings 2018 inexorably to a close, the NRA’s Legal Practice Director and Deputy CEO, Lindsay Carroll reflects on a year that has been a challenging time for retailers and business in general. Never before has compliance with industrial laws been so far at the forefront of the national consciousness, with […]
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 […]
Understanding when to pay uniform and laundry allowances prescribed by modern awards is an issue that is commonly misunderstood by employers. The misunderstanding often arises because employees can claim such allowances on their tax return. However, employers may be in breach of a Modern Award if applicable uniform and laundry allowances aren’t paid. NRA’s Fair […]
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, […]
By Sooraj Sidhu, NRA Legal You might have heard in recent months the term ‘gig economy’ being thrown around by politicians, lawyers and leaders in workplace relations. The term, which has become buzzword of the century, refers to the burgeoning number of workers engaged in short-term or temporary positions, either through labour-hire, independent contractor or […]
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 Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal On 28 June 2018, the Commonwealth introduced the Modern Slavery Bill, which, if passed, will target the supply chains of large businesses in a bid to quash modern slavery in Australia. A week prior, on 21 June 2018, the New South Wales Government passed the Modern Slavery […]
On Friday 6 June 2018 the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission, in a decision published that afternoon, advised that it intended that Domestic Violence Leave would commence through the modern award system on 1 August 2018. Background This decision finalises a process which saw the Fair Work Commission reject the ACTU’s claim for […]
By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Last Thursday a five-member Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission, headed by Vice President Adam Hatcher, handed down its decision in the Loaded Rates in Agreements Case. This case considered eight (later reduced to five) enterprise agreements for which the Commission’s approval was sought. Each of […]
Legislative update: What you need to know from 1 July 2018 By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Penalty rate cuts Following a Fair Work Commission decision handed down last year, Sunday penalty rates for employees covered by the General Retail Industry Award, the Fast Food Industry Award, the Hospitality Industry (General) Award and […]
By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal When employees are absent from work on sick leave, employers often have to walk a narrow line between the lawful and the unlawful. On the one hand, the employee has the right to be absent on sick leave, and interfering with that right can land you on […]
By Emma Treherne and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal An employer who deliberately withheld parental leave payments to an employee has been ordered to pay a whopping $98,700.00 in penalties. Judge Nicholls of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia held that both the employer and company director of the employer broke the law by, amongst other […]
By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Written contracts are a staple of legal relationships, including the employment relationship. They are not without their problems – long, complicated, wordy, incomprehensible, full of legalese … as lawyers, we have heard all of these complaints. To combat this, engineering and infrastructure consultancy Aurecon have introduced the […]
As discussed in Part 1 of our Modern Award Series, the first step to determining if a modern award applies to your business is to check clause 4 (Coverage) of the modern award in question. This clause will set out the industry to which the award applies. You must then look to clause 3 (Definitions […]
As you would have seen in Part 1 of our Modern Award Series ‘How to work out which modern awards apply in your business?’, it can be quite confusing working out which award has coverage over a business in the ‘food services’ industry: From the diagram above, you can see there are five different modern […]
By Sid Sidhu, Workplace Relations Advisor, and Emma Treherne, Principal Workplace Relations Advisor, NRA Legal Are you aware of your obligations when making 15 or more staff redundant? Employers looking to dismiss 15 or more employees by way of redundancy are required to carry out additional obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Prior […]