Employment

Filter Results

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 …
Read more

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 …
Read more

Respect@Work – Positive Duty on Employers

The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022(Cth) places a positive duty on employers, including agencies to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate hostile workplace environments, sexual harassment, harassment on the grounds of sex, gender-based discrimination in the workplace and related acts of victimisation. Under the Work Health and Safety …
Read more

Unfair dismissal – Childcare responsibilities were not a valid reason for failing to comply with Fair Work Commission directions

Mr Praveen Samuel lodged an unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission (the Commission). He failed to respond to correspondence from the Commission by the deadline imposed and his application was dismissed. He sought leave to appeal the decision. The appeal was dismissed on the grounds that there would be no public interest in …
Read more

Unfair dismissal – Can unauthorised annual leave reduce the minimum employment period?

Mr Calleja was employed as a full-time spring maker until his employment was terminated by his employer in March 2021. Mr Calleja subsequently made an unfair dismissal claim. The former employer raised multiple defences to Mr Calleja’s claim, one of which was that Mr Calleja had not been employed for long enough to make an …
Read more

How certain are the terms of your employment contracts?

In the recent case of McAlister v Yara Australia Pty Ltd [2021] FCCA 1409, an employer was ordered by the Federal Circuit Court to pay damages of approximately $143,000 plus statutory entitlements (less any amounts already paid) for wrongful termination representing 9-months pay in lieu of notice to an employee. This may have been avoided …
Read more

Qantas JobKeeper case – How to properly calculate JobKeeper payments

In a recent decision of Qantas Airways Limited v Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia (the JobKeeper Case) the Federal Court of Australia considered and determined the correct application of the JobKeeper provisions contained in section 789GDA(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009. Relevant JobKeeper provision Section 789GDA(2)(b) contains the “minimum payment guarantee”, which operates to …
Read more

Genuine redundancies during the COVID-19 pandemic

In the recent case of Browne v MySharedServices Pty Ltd [2020] FWC 4445, the Fair Work Commission (Commission) has reasserted the importance of consultation, even during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In this case, Mr Matthew Browne (the Employee) was dismissed without his employer, MySharedServices Pty Ltd (the Employer), undertaking any consultation prior to his termination. …
Read more

How should you calculate sick leave?

In a recent case Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union [2020] HCA 29 (Mondelez Case) the High Court settled some long-standing uncertainty about the meaning of “a day” under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act). The National Employment Standards (NES), through the operation of …
Read more