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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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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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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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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The boundaries between public life and private life, specifically in relation to the workplace and the home, have become porous. And the question for many organisations is whether they can control what their employees post on social media. The answer, like most legal answers, is that it depends on the circumstances and more particularly what …
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The new Reportable Conduct Scheme is now effective in Canberra, as of 1 July 2017. The ACT government passed legislation introducing the Scheme subsequent to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Scheme is designed to ensure that allegations concerning child protection are identified, reported and acted on appropriately, at an …
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Yesterday, AFP employees delivered a clear message to the AFP Executive that they will not accept the Enterprise Agreement being offered by the AFP. 87.2% of employees cast a vote, and of those 80.88% voted no, meaning that only 19.12% voted yes. To set the scene, the circumstances leading into the vote were as follows: …
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The importance of performance management to private employers and government departments cannot be overstated. Performance management is more than the process of evaluating and managing employees to ensure that the employer is meeting its obligations. The benefits to effectively managing employees can be wide-reaching to both employers and employees, especially when you consider the huge …
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Trust and confidence – Barker In the 2014 case Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker (Barker), the High Court of Australia determined that there is no implied term of mutual trust and confidence in contracts of employment in Australia. This was considered by some as a sign that the foundations relied upon in employment contracts …
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In recent years, the concept of workplace culture has come into the spotlight exposing some of Australia’s largest organisations, including the Australian Defence Force in 2013, and more recently during 2016, the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The recent independent review into the workplace culture of the AFP by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick has …
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