COVID-19 | Managing coronavirus in the workplace: Is your business “pandemic” ready?
It has been a turbulent start to the incoming decade as many Australian businesses have had to deal with the implications of major natural disasters and pandemics, from unprecedented bushfires to a global outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). To assist employers we have created a guide to serve as the foundation for business decisions […]
ReadmoreYou are on notice – comply or run the risk of serious consequences well beyond back-pay!
“…if there is a major business in Australia who doesn’t consider itself on notice that they have to invest and improve their systems of payments, and their platforms, and their technology, and their auditing, then that system, that company would have rocks in its head… you’re on notice.” Industrial Relations Minister and Attorney-General Christian Porter […]
ReadmoreAnnualised wage arrangements – changes commence 1 March 2020
The Fair Work Commission has determined that revised annualised wage provisions will be inserted into a number of modern awards from 1 March 2020, including the Clerks – Private Sector Award 2010 and Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010. Employers that utilise an annualised wage arrangement under a modern award will be required […]
ReadmoreVictoria to introduce offence of Industrial Manslaughter: What does it mean for employers?
The Victorian Parliament recently passed the Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019 (Bill), to introduce a new offence of ‘industrial manslaughter’ under section 39G of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) (OHS Act). The Bill comes just months after the national “Review of the model WHS laws: Final report” […]
ReadmoreFine Dining Room or Dining Room Fined?
At the moment, we have a perfect storm of Australian culture and the economy making for headlines. There is an extensive focus on food and fine dining spilling over to reality television shows and the cult of the celebrity chef generating pages of newspapers, magazines and hours of television. This has also involved a competitive […]
ReadmoreFederal Government and Cadbury seek leave to appeal Federal Court decision that left bad taste in employers’ mouths
The Federal Government and major employer Mondelez, who operates a Cadbury plant in Tasmania, will seek leave to appeal last month’s landmark Full Federal Court decision regarding paid personal/carers’ leave, to the High Court. The decision concerned the meaning of the word “day” for the purpose of the entitlement to 10 days paid personal/carer’s leave […]
ReadmorePerformance management, workplace bullying and reasonable management action
The management of employee performance is a key component for every successful organisation. However, performance management by its very nature, is difficult and can often lead to a range of legal risks for businesses. One particularly difficult scenario is where an employee alleges the performance management process, or the way in which performance management is […]
ReadmorePotential reform of Australia’s federal discrimination laws
The Australian Human Rights Commission is currently reviewing Australia’s federal discrimination laws and considering what reforms should be made to those laws. To that end, the Commission recently released a discussion paper, “Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights“, setting out its preliminary views on the priorities for reform. The paper notes that […]
ReadmoreNew whistleblower laws: ASIC consults on whistleblower policy requirements
We recently published a comprehensive guide to the new obligations for employers and the expanded protections for whistleblowers, under Australia’s revised corporate whistleblowing regime. That regime commenced operation on 1 July 2019 and creates a significant compliance burden for all companies, including the requirement for some companies to have a whistleblower policy. Who must […]
ReadmoreModern slavery reporting: NSW legislation update
Over a year since the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) (Act) was passed by Parliament, the legislation is still yet to come into force, or even have a date set for doing so. Since that time, the Federal Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) has passed and come into effect (see our previous article on that […]
ReadmoreNew whistleblowing laws – are you ready?
The Australian corporate whistleblowing regime has recently been significantly amended by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2019 (Cth), which was passed by the Federal parliament on 19 February 2019. That legislation comes into operation from 1 July 2019 and creates a large compliance burden for employers. To understand the legislation, new obligations […]
ReadmoreEmployment Lifecycle Series | Managing employees’ poor performance
You have successfully recruited the right candidate and prepared the new recruit for success through your effective and structured induction program. Unfortunately, employees do not always perform to the standard that is required or expected, or you may receive a complaint about an employee regarding an incident which can be regarded as misconduct. At this […]
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