The internet has been an area of controversy in employment law for a number of years. Many late-night rants and political outbursts have been the subject of unfair dismissal proceedings. What we post on social media can easily be viewed by our employers. It often has a direct bearing on our employment when content is …
Read more
Recently, the Federal Court handed down its highly-anticipated employment decision in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato [2020] FCAFC 84. The decision concerned an employee of the labour-hire company known as WorkPac. The employee had been employed by WorkPac through a number of consecutive casual employment agreements for mining projects in Queensland. The employee entered into …
Read more
The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) have determined by hearing on 8 April 2020 to amend modern awards to accommodate for the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes following the provisional views of the FWC released at the start of the month detailing their views on the impact of COVID-19 on employment arrangements. What …
Read more
The five new powers of employers Employers who qualify for the JobKeeper Scheme (a JobKeeper employer) now have the ability to take certain actions when their employees cannot be usefully employed due to COVID-19. This includes: standing down employees; reducing employees’ hours of work; directing employees to undertake certain duties, which may differ from their …
Read more
As most people are aware, unfair dismissal applications must be lodged within 21 days of termination. In limited circumstances, the Fair Work Commission can allow a further period if it is satisfied there are exceptional circumstances taking into account: the reason for the delay; action taken by the person to the dispute; prejudice to the …
Read more
A closer look at biometric data in the workplace A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has provided some insight into the collection and use of sensitive information in the workplace. In the case of Jeremy Lee v Superior Wood Pty Ltd [2019] FWCFB 2946, the FWC found that it was unfair for an …
Read more
On 21 August 2019, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia considered an alleged inconsistency between the National Employment Standards (NES) and an Enterprise Agreement related to the accrual of personal/carer’s leave. Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd (Mondelez) operates food manufacturing plants across Australia and is a national system employer. Mondelez entered into an …
Read more