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 […]
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 […]
As a member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the National Retail Association has been working on policies that improve the workforce participation of a diverse range of groups that often struggle to secure work. People with disability is one such group. We are helping the Government to be better informed about what […]
Part 1 of our Modern Award Series – How to work out which modern awards apply in your business By Alex Millman and Emma Treherne, NRA Legal With 122 modern awards covering most industries, it can sometimes be a mind-boggling exercise to work out which one applies to your business. The problem is, you can’t […]
With consumers gearing up to spend big over the Christmas period and summer holidays, retailers are busy preparing themselves and employing young workers to assist over the coming weeks. But are you aware of the laws around young workers? It is certainly not the case that you can pay your young employees at trainee rates, […]
Employers have a duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their staff. This translates to a need to provide a sufficient system for managing health and safety hazards and risks in the workplace. One way of ensuring compliance with your duty of care is to implement work health and safety manuals and […]
By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal A café supervisor who was dismissed for calling his manager a ‘racist b****’ has been awarded a to-be-determined amount of compensation by the Fair Work Commission. The case highlights how the particular circumstances in which an action was taken can drastically change the outcome. Coffey v QBar […]
The prevalence of depression and anxiety among Australians is high and often goes unrecognised, despite the substantial labour cost of mental illness in Australia (estimated to be $49 billion). Supervisors hold a key leadership responsibility in managing and enhancing the welfare and mental health of their staff. Clear guidelines have been made available outlining the […]
GOLD COAST – SIR20212 Certificate in Retail Services September 2016 intake The NRA Retail Training Centre is delighted to announce that the latest cohort of students on the Gold Coast have received positive results with immediate job outcomes for more than half of the graduates. The NRA, Coles Supermarkets and Help Enterprises have just completed one […]
The cost of mental illness to Australia’s economy has hit $200 billion a year, according to Herald-Lateral Economics Index of Australia’s Wellbeing. One in four adults experience mental illness every year and one in seventeen Australians live with a serious mental illness. While many employers believe that employers shouldn’t bring their problems to work, most […]
A recent study conducted in Canada has identified that one in three workers had experienced domestic violence (DV) at some point in their life. Despite these statistics there was minimal evidence found of employers understanding and taking action to assist victims of DV. The purpose of the study was to examine: The awareness of co-worker […]
Recent statistics have discovered that sexual harassment in the workplace is at an all-time high with 25% of women and 16% of men experiencing this form of harassment. In July, the Supreme Court ordered WorkCover to pay a family support worker over $1.5 million after she was sexually assaulted by a client within the workplace. […]
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissed an adverse action claim made by a Sales Manager after she was dismissed due to failure to provide sufficient evidence for a compassionate leave request. Jasmine Morris was employed as a Sales Manager at Allied Express Transport Pty Ltd and had previously been reported to have “inconsistencies” with […]
Staff training is incredibly beneficial for specific purposes related to your business. You may need your new workers to undertake instruction in a new process or to develop new product knowledge. However including training that develops employees toward long-term career goals can also promote greater job satisfaction. A satisfied employee is likely to stay longer […]
This week saw the National Retail Association facilitate two mental health workshops to help our members identify and manage mental health issues in the workplace. New Australian research has identified that workplace bullying and harassment increases the likelihood of a worker developing suicidal thoughts. These results highlight a growing need for organisational intervention to address […]
Language in the workplace, especially between colleagues and team members, performs an important role in determining what is acceptable behaviour, and ultimately, what the broader workplace environment looks like. In many workplaces, it is unfortunate that condescending and patronising language can be an all-too-frequent occurrence. In many instances, a capable and competent team member will […]
Details of the Coalition’s plan for a strong new economy have been revealed including a policy to protect vulnerable workers following the recent 7-Eleven wages scandal. The controversy and issues surrounding the exploitation of staff at 7-Eleven has demonstrated the need to strengthen existing laws. More specifically, this saga has exposed a widespread practice amongst […]
Exceptional customer service is a critical element for any business, continually improving skills to achieve peak levels of performance and sales success. One of the most popular training programs the National Retail Association (NRA) offers is the one day Customer Service workshop. More than 350 employees have participated in this interactive and practical workshop over […]
The minimum wage for award covered employees is due to increase in July 2016. The Fair Work Commission will outline the new award pay rates in a determination to be delivered in June 2016 and we will provide our members with updated Wage Summaries shortly after. Employers must make sure they are paying employees in […]
Last Friday night saw Brisbane’s leading CEOs swap the boardroom for the City Hall dance floor to raise funds for Dancing CEO’s, an annual gala event to support Women’s Legal Service and the prevention of domestic violence. The National Retail Association (NRA) was proud to be an event sponsor of Dancing CEOs and support Women’s […]