Casual IR reforms – A new frontier for employers

On 9 December 2020, the Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Christian Porter introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (IR Reform Bill) to Parliament, which sought to make significant reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) and other related legislation. The IR Reform Bill was drafted following […]

Readmore

COVID-19 | Transitioning employees back to the physical workplace – key considerations

With the continued easing of restrictions across Australia, more and more businesses are looking to transition employees from home and back into their physical workplace. Whether your employees have been on a working from home arrangement, a period of stand down, leave or reduced hours, now is the time to consider how things will work for […]

Readmore

Reforms to the Fair Work Act – What you need to know

The Federal Government yesterday introduced into parliament The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (Bill), which if passed will amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act) and related legislation. The Bill has been developed with input from a range of stakeholders, through a process of IR working […]

Readmore

High Court to clarify casual employment – the next instalment in WorkPac v Rossato

On 26 November 2020, the High Court of Australia granted special leave to WorkPac Pty Ltd (WorkPac) to challenge the Full Federal Court decision in WorkPac v Rossato.[1] Since the Full Federal Court decision, employers have been left confused as to how to treat their casual workforce and how to ensure that they are acting […]

Readmore

COVID-19 | Trackies to trousers: Transitioning from home to the physical workplace

What will COVID normal look like for your business? With the continued easing of restrictions across Australia, more and more businesses will be looking to transition employees from home (whether on a working from home arrangement or due to a period of stand down, leave or reduced hours) and back into their physical workplace. Just […]

Readmore

COVID-19 | Webinar | Trackies to trousers: Transitioning from home to the physical workplace

With the continued easing of COVID-19 restrictions across Australia, more employers are transitioning their employees back to the physical workplace. As with the move to working from home, employers will likely face challenges in the return to face to face operations. In this webinar, Brett Feltham (Partner), Siobhan Mulcahy (Partner) and Emma Moran (Senior Associate) […]

Readmore

FMCG Express | October Edition

2020 continues to be an interesting year with COVID-19 still impacting our lives and businesses, although we are cautiously optimistic that we may be turning a corner here in Australia. In this edition of FMCG Express, we bring you some useful COVID-19 reading as we grapple with the ongoing effects of the pandemic and look […]

Readmore

COVID-19 | JobMaker: How the Federal Budget Hiring Credit scheme works

The Federal Government has recently announced the introduction of the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme, designed to give businesses incentives to employ younger, unemployed job seekers.  The scheme is expected to support around 450,000 employment positions. As part of the 2020/2021 Federal Budget, the JobMaker scheme targets the creation of new jobs, as opposed to the […]

Readmore

COVID-19 | Webinar | JobKeeper 2.0 and changes to the Fair Work Act – what you need to know

Last week, the Federal Government agreed a six month, $32 billion extension to the COVID-19 JobKeeper Scheme (see our full update here). Australian businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic, and the Scheme has helped many stay afloat since its introduction in March. In this webinar (hosted on Thursday, 10 September 2020), Brett Feltham […]

Readmore

COVID-19 | JobKeeper 2.0 and changes to the Fair Work Act – what you need to know

The Federal Government has agreed an extension to the COVID-19 JobKeeper scheme, with major changes being implemented imminently. Amending legislation was passed by Federal parliament on 1 September 2020. The effect of COVID-19 on Australian businesses has been profound, and staying at the forefront of critical changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and […]

Readmore

Notional day or working day? The High Court rules on the Mondelez case

In our previous article, we discussed the landmark Full Federal Court decision regarding the interpretation of what constitutes a ‘day’ in relation to the calculation of paid personal/carer’s leave under the National Employment Standards (NES) in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). Since then, special leave was granted by the High Court to […]

Readmore

COVID-19 | Modern slavery update

The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) came into force on 1 January 2019 and established a national modern slavery reporting requirement for large businesses and other entities in the Australian market with annual consolidated revenue of at least $100 million. Our previous article sets out a comprehensive overview of the legislation and the steps that […]

Readmore