November 2016

Governing Legislations: Employers planning to do business in Quebec should familiarize themselves with their duties and obligations under various Quebec laws and regulations. Key legislation in Quebec  addresses, among others, employment standards, human rights, occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation, labour relations and pay equity. Employers and employees in Quebec also have obligations under the…

On November 4, 2016, a federal judge in Pennsylvania became the latest jurist to side with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in endorsing the viability of claims based on sexual orientation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In U.S. EEOC v. Scott Medical Health Center, the EEOC brought…

This article was written by Anè Potgieter, an Associate  at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa

A striking employee can be guilty of derivative misconduct and fairly dismissed if the employee fails to come forward and assist the employer to identify the perpetrators of misconduct during a strike. Derivative misconduct includes the failure to disclose information…

This post was also contributed by Dimitri Schaff, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich).

Currently, about one quarter of all employment relationships in Germany are based on part-time models, the proportion of part-time to full-time employees having increased by about 12 per cent since 2001. Furthermore, as a result of the implementation of the EU…

A series of recent cases demonstrates that the Fair Work Commission (FWC) will, with increasing frequency, revoke or suspend union entry permits following findings of contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). 

So far this year, in 3 separate cases, the FWC has suspended or revoked the entry permits of 7 officials of the CFMEU following findings that the union officials misused their right of entry permits.  See Fair Work Commission v Roberts [2016] FWC 4052 (29 June 2016), Director, Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate v Vink [2016] FWC 2512 (20 April 2016), and Director, Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate v CFMEU [2016] FWC 811 (7 March 2016).

An entry permit is an essential requirement for a union official to have and exercise a statutory right of entry to workplaces under the FW Act.  This right of entry is a key tool used by union officials for the purpose of discussion with members and potential members, including for recruitment, and investigation of compliance by employers.  However, it is a right susceptible to misuse and abuse in a manner significantly disruptive to an employer’s operations.

For many employers, the arduous task of reviewing and revising an employee handbook may occur as infrequently as every leap year, or worse, only after a law suit has been filed. However, recent decisions by the National Labor Relations Board (Board) should cause employers to take a much closer look at their employee policies and…

Under French employment law, part-time employees enjoy rights identical to those granted to full-time employees by law, collective bargaining agreements and company agreements employees.

Consequently, there exists a principle of equality between part-time and full-time employees, such that part-time employees enjoy either the same or proportional rights as those so full-time employees.

Part-time employees enjoy…

For many employers the beginning of the crisp autumn air is inextricably linked with the start of the new school year, and with it the return of their student employees. It is important for employers to know that while the Employment Standards Act, 2000 applies to youth and adults alike, there are some differences in…

Well known organisations that are convicted for work health and safety offences may face higher fines, following a recent decision of the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal.

Tho Services Limited pleaded guilty to three breaches of section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), after a work experience student sustained permanent eye damage while performing welding tasks without wearing appropriate eye protection.

The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal fined Tho Services $240,000.  In doing so, it overturned an earlier decision of the New South Wales District Court, that Tho Services only be required to pay $28,000 for the prosecution’s costs.