Employment
Employment Law Series: Disputes arising from employment termination – general protection claims & adverse action
As we all know, often termination is challenging and if not handled delicately can result in a dispute. The common disputes that arise out of employment termination are: Unfair Dismissal; and General Protection claims. In this article, we examine general protection claims. General Protections One of the primary objectives of the Fair Work Act 2009 …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Serious Misconduct
It is fair for an employer to dismiss an employee without notice or warning when the employee’s conduct is sufficiently serious to justify immediate dismissal (summary dismissal)[1]. The reasons must be sound, defensible and well founded. It cannot merely be a matter of the employer showing that it believed on reasonable grounds that the employee …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Redundancy
What is redundancy? In general, a position is redundant if the employer no longer requires the job to be performed by anyone. In enacting redundancy an employer must comply with the requirements of: Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FWA) relating to dismissal on grounds of genuine redundancy, severance pay and consultation over large-scale redundancies any …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Performance Management
The most common reason for an employer wanting to terminate an employee’s contract is underperformance. Managing this process carefully is required given the complexities and differences surrounding each employment relationship. You need to ensure the employee is treated fairly and minimize any adverse repercussions on any business. It is important to understand that underperformance and …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Abandonment of Employment
Employers need to be careful when considering whether abandonment of employment has occurred and terminating the employment contract. Abandonment cannot be determined strictly based upon the contractual position. But does include a detailed consideration of all the facts (not including the parties’ subjective beliefs or the reasonableness of the parties’ conduct). The wrong determination on …
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Employment Law Series: Ending Employment – Resignations
The most common form of employment separation is where an employee provides an employer with Notice of their intention to end the employment relationship. This is usually consensual and the key consideration is normally whether sufficient Notice has been provided. Notice The required Notice can be set out in an enterprise agreement, employment agreement or …
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I spy, with my little eye… an employer who requires a workplace surveillance policy
It is becoming increasingly common for employers to monitor their employees whilst in the workplace, and when using employer devices. Although Australia does not currently have uniform laws governing the surveillance of employees, in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, there are specific regulations which dictate what an employer must do before conducting …
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Griffin Legal Sessions: Employee Termination and Risk Management
Terminating an employee can be difficult to manage and there can be many risk factors involved that you may not have considered. From adverse action claims to constructive dismissal, in this insightful session, we will answer your questions and discuss methods to avoid the risks associated with terminating an employee. The session is led by …
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New Year’s Resolutions for your organisation and the law ahead for 2018
Welcome to 2018! It is set to be another interesting year ahead, as the Australian Open kicks off this week, we head towards the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, we see the 2018 Commonwealth Games hosted in the Gold Coast, and we await the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. It’s also the year …
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Do you have to act on reports of sexual harassment if no formal complaint is made?
Often it is the case that victims of sexual harassment don’t feel comfortable reporting incidents of sexual harassment. As a result, the victim and the perpetrator may merely remain the subject of office gossip. This is not a healthy situation for employees, or indeed as we have seen in the news recently, the organisation’s culture. …
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