Employment
Fair Work Ombudsman taking action for underpayments and payslip breaches
Employers are reminded that the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) will take action where they believe employees are not receiving their entitlements. The FWO is currently seeking orders against a Melbourne based labour hire company, Oz ESDM Pty Ltd, to rectify an alleged underpayment of wages under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 and failure …
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Fair Work amendments: independent contractor or employee?
In February 2024, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 (the Act) re-introduced the “multifactorial” test for whether a worker is legally considered to be an independent contractor or an employee. That is, the Act requires an assessment of all of the circumstances of each work arrangement to be made in …
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The Right to Disconnect
In a bid to address the growing concerns of work-life balance and the intrusion of work into personal time, the right to disconnect amendment to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) was passed by the House of Representatives on 12 February 2024.
Hearing Testing Requirements under WHS Regulations
The model Work Health and Safety Regulations introduced new requirements for audiometric testing which commenced on from 1 January 2024. The relevant provisions are mirrored in all jurisdictions, except for Western Australia and Queensland, which have not adopted the relevant testing requirements as included in the Model Work Health and Safety Regulations.
Zombie Agreement Termination
Employers need to be aware that from 7 December 2023, all zombie agreements, other than those for which the Fair Work Commission has granted an extension, have been replaced by relevant modern awards made by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act).
Superannuation under the National Employment Standards
As of 1 January 2024 the National Employment Standards (NES) include a right to superannuation for national system employees. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Act 2023 has amended the Fair Work Act 2009 by, among other things, requiring national system employers to make contributions to a superannuation fund for the benefit of …
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Gender Pay Gap Action – Changes in 2024
In March 2023 the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) 2023 Act (‘WGEA’) was passed. These amendments are intended to reduce gender inequality in the workplace, and increase the mandatory reporting obligations for reporting organisations (being those with more than 100 employees) from the 2024 reporting period.
Employment law changes commence
Employment law changes commence: new laws on fixed term contracts and enforcement powers for the positive duty New Rules for Fixed Term Contracts From 6 December 2023 employers should ensure their contract templates and staffing arrangements are appropriate for the new limitations on fixed term contracting introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, …
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Fair Work Act changes now in effect
Employment law is in a state of flux. There are a number of significant changes which are now in effect. We have set out a brief summary of each of these changes, and encourage you to reach out if your workplace requires assistance in ensuring its policies and procedures are up to date. We can …
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Positive duty guidelines
Alert: AHRC releases guidelines for new positive duty. From 12 December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission will have the power to enforce compliance with the positive duty obligation under section 47(c) of Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). The positive duty requires organisations and businesses to take ‘reasonable and proportionate measures’ to eliminate, as far …
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