July 2016

If an employee is entitled to redundancy pay on termination, but their employer has obtained other acceptable employment for them, the employer can apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) to reduce (including to nil) the amount of redundancy pay that is due to the employee.

The employer is required to demonstrate that:

  • it “obtained” the alternative employment for employees; and
  • the alternative employment was “acceptable”.

In the recent decision of Sodexo Australia Pty Ltd T/A Sodexo [2016] FWC 4012, Deputy President Sams of the FWC considered the second test of whether the alternative employment was “acceptable”.

Last year the Ontario government initiated the Changing Workplace Review, which it intends as the first step towards identifying potential reforms of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “LRA”) to better protect workers, while supporting businesses in our changing economy.  Two government-appointed Special Advisors are responsible for…

Should an employer’s financial circumstances be relevant when considering the period of reasonable notice to which a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled? This question was raised on appeal in Michela v St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School, 2015 ONCA 801.

As calculating the appropriate notice period is fact-specific, the argument that an employer’s…

Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 (OHS Regulations) and the Equipment (Public Safety) Regulations 2007 are due to expire on 19 June 2017.

WorkSafe has today released proposed new OHS Regulations to replace the current OHS Regulations.

WorkSafe has invited public submissions and comment on the proposed new OHS Regulations as part of the consultation and review process. Submissions are due by the close of business on Friday 9 September 2016.

Section 34 offers certainty and protection to employers by imposing time limits on claims brought under the Ontario Human Rights Code (“the Code”). Recently, in Meiri v York Region District School Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“the Tribunal”) affirmed the application of these time restrictions to employer policies with continuing effects.…

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has claimed victory in the federal election, as the Coalition achieved the slim majority in Australia’s federal parliament.

We briefly outline the likely key amendments to the Fair Work Act, as promised by the Coalition Government prior to the election, and other possible amendments to the workplace relations legislative framework.

At common law, a non-unionized employee can be dismissed without reasons if he or she is given reasonable notice or pay in lieu.  Today, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that this common law rule does not apply to federally regulated employers.  The Court ruled that federally regulated employers must always provide…

What constitutes a serious motive to terminate an employee under a fixed-term employment contract? Recent events in Quebec raise this question as the province’s former deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau was dismissed by her employer, a Quebec City radio station, even though her contract expired in August 2019. This occurred after the deposition of seven criminal…

The saga opposing the multinational Uber to taxi drivers has been raging in the province of Quebec for nearly two years. We have witnessed a multiplication of public interventions coming from both camps in order to rally to their respective cause both the government and the majority of the population.

Taxi drivers, represented by a…