GL Insights
Launching Real Estate into the Digital Domain: The transition to e-Conveyancing in the ACT
The ACT is following in the footsteps of other Australian states and working toward an electronic conveyancing system. It has been on the horizon for months, with the implementation of gradual measures to make the transition, including identity verifications and the removal of requirements for original signatures on documents. So what could e-Conveyancing mean for …
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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. …
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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 …
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ACAT fines Lessor for non-compliance with Tribunal order
It is vital to the administration of justice and the rule of law that orders of the Courts and Tribunals are complied with. The ACT Civil & Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) has recently fined a litigant for the deliberate flouting of orders: Brynes v Wang (Residential Tenancies) [2020] ACAT 40. Order In this case, the Tenant …
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Case Update: Employee compensated $200,000 after being dismissed for sharing a Hitler meme
We previously wrote about the decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission in the case of Scott Tracey v BP Refinery (Kwinana) Pty Ltd [2020] FWCFB 820. This case involved a Western Australia BP employee, Mr Tracey, who was dismissed with payment in lieu of notice after sharing a meme video of …
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Trans-Tasman IP protection: how to register a trade mark in New Zealand
Despite the recent decrease in travel due to COVID-19, we still live in the age of globalisation. It is not uncommon for businesses to expand trade to other countries, including our friendly neighbours in New Zealand. Trading across the Tasman may be particularly attractive if a travel bubble were to eventuate. Trading in a new …
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Introduction of Paid Pandemic Leave
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the Fair Work Commission (Commission) introduced unpaid pandemic leave into 99 Modern Awards, to protect workers required to self-isolate as a result of being exposed to, or being infected with, COVID-19. The Commission has now introduced paid pandemic leave in response to the second-wave of infections in Victoria. What …
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Consultation requirement in the redundancy process
Prior consultation of employees is one of the requirements for a redundancy to be genuine under section 389 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act). This section requires, among other things, employers to comply with any consultation obligation found in a Modern Award or Enterprise Agreement. Who do employers need to consult? …
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Changes to the Miscellaneous Award
The Fair Work Commission have made changes, in effect from 1 July 2020, to the Miscellaneous Award 2020 to cover a broader range of workers, including many that previously would not have been covered by any Modern Award. In making this decision, the Fair Work Commission re-emphasised the importance of employers carefully considering award coverage …
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What information can you request from your employees in relation to COVID-19?
In a recent case Kieran Knight v One Key Resources (Mining) Pty Ltd T/A One Key Resources [2020] FWC 3324 (29 June 2020) (Knight Case), the Fair Work Commission (Commission) found that it is lawful for an employer to requesting certain information from employees to determine any workplace risk created by COVID-19. This may seem …
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