Shannon Walker

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West Australian Director becomes first person jailed in WA for WHS breaches

By Nicki Milionis and Shannon Walker on June 2, 2021 Posted in Australia

For the first time in the 37 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (OSH Act) came into effect, an individual has been sentenced to imprisonment in Western Australia. The successful prosecution may be one of the last prosecutions brought under the OSH Act which is soon to be replaced by the new … Continue reading

Australian Sexual Harassment Landscape to Change

By Alexandra Shields, Shannon Walker and Electra Dow on May 11, 2021 Posted in Australia

In mid-March 2021, amendments were sought to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SD Act) by independent member Ms Zali Steggall OAM introducing the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Prohibiting All Sexual Harassment) Bill (Bill). If passed, the Bill will address some of the shortcomings in the SD Act which were initially highlighted by the Australian Human … Continue reading

Western Australia set for WHS Reform

By Katherine Morris, Annika Martz and Shannon Walker on November 26, 2020 Posted in Australia

The Work Health and Safety Bill 2019 (WA) received assent on 10 November 2020 (WHS Act). The WHS Act introduces the offence of industrial manslaughter and will harmonise WA’s work health and safety (WHS) laws with most other Australian states and territories. This harmonisation is long overdue in WA with the other states and territories … Continue reading

The Miscellaneous Award now has greater reach

By Shannon Walker on June 16, 2020 Posted in Australia

On 12 February 2020 the Fair Work Commission (Commission) amended the Miscellaneous Award 2010 with effect from 1 July 2020. The changes extend the coverage of this Award to traditionally award-free employees with potentially far reaching consequences for some employers.… Continue reading

Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth): Workplace flexibility for JobKeeper employers in response to COVID-19 pandemic

By David Cross, Shannon Walker and Norah Chafardet on April 13, 2020 Posted in Australia, Coronavirus

On 8 April 2020, the Commonwealth Parliament passed amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) to assist employers who qualify for the JobKeeper scheme to deal with the economic impact of the Coronavirus.… Continue reading

COVID-19: What are an employer’s obligations to pay an employee who cannot attend work?

By Shannon Walker on March 11, 2020 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Coronavirus

As Australian businesses scramble to implement a COVID-19 task force, response plan and risk management protocols, at some point they may face a very important issue: to pay or not to pay their employees.… Continue reading

Coronavirus and Discrimination: The balance between protecting the workforce and community and avoiding unlawful discrimination

By Shannon Walker on February 18, 2020 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Coronavirus

Last week a Malaysian student of Chinese descent returned to her rented home in Perth’s southern suburbs after visiting family in Malaysia for a few weeks. Upon arriving home, she found the locks had been changed and a handwritten sign was on the door, notifying her she was no longer welcome in the house given … Continue reading

Coronavirus: what should AU employers be doing?

By Shannon Walker on February 3, 2020 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Coronavirus

Australia, like many countries, is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. In order to meet their duty of care to workers, there are a number of steps employers should now be taking.… Continue reading

Employee dismissed following long term absence due to mental illness: Federal Court finds it lawful

By Shannon Walker on November 13, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Discrimination and harassment

In an important decision last month, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia upheld the appeal of an employer who claimed, in dismissing a client executive who had been absent from work for 7 months due to mental health issues, it had acted lawfully and not dismissed him because of his illness.[1] The … Continue reading

Why sacking senior executives is a risky business

By Shannon Walker on July 18, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Uncategorized

Since the enactment of the ‘adverse action’ provisions under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) some 10 years ago, it is far more difficult for an employer to lawfully dismiss an executive or senior manager. Why? Because adverse action claims: are relatively easy to bring; can include compensation for hurt, distress and humiliation … Continue reading

New whistleblowing laws require a compliant policy

By Shannon Walker on April 8, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

Amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) take effect from 1 July 2019 ushering in significant changes to Australia’s whistleblowing laws.[1] Chief among the key changes is a requirement on public companies and large proprietary companies[2] to have a compliant whistleblowing policy by 1 January 2020. A failure … Continue reading

Workplace relations under a Federal Labor Government

By Shannon Walker on October 11, 2018 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General

A federal election is due by mid-2019 and it is shaping up to be one where, for the first time in a long time, there might actually be substantive differences between the employment and labour policies of the Labor Party and those of the Liberal National Coalition. Were Labor to win, and have a Senate … Continue reading

No “fair go” makes dismissal for a valid reason unfair

By Shannon Walker on August 20, 2018 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

The Fair Work Commission will inevitably find a dismissal to be ‘unfair’ if, despite having legitimate performance concerns, an employer does not give the employee a ‘fair go’ to both respond to those concerns and improve their performance. In Cheek v ELB Pty Ltd,[1] the Commission took a close look at just what a ‘fair … Continue reading

Record penalties for health and safety breaches in WA are a sign of things to come

By Shannon Walker on June 5, 2018 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

Penalties imposed under Western Australia’s Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (Act) have been kicked up a notch with the Perth Magistrates Court recently fining a company and its director more than double the previous record. In setting this new high water mark, the Court has sent a clear message that failing to ensure a … Continue reading

Legal representation in the post-Fitzgerald world – difficult but not impossible

By Shannon Walker on May 2, 2018 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

In October 2017, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission in Fitzgerald v Woolworths[1] challenged the common understanding of “representation” by a lawyer, by finding it involves a wide range of activities connected with litigation and is broader than just oral advocacy before the FWC. As lawyers (and paid agents) must obtain the FWC’s … Continue reading

You can’t escape award coverage with a fancy job title and a big salary

By Shannon Walker on April 18, 2018 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Contracts

In our experience, many employers are under the false impression that, if they put an employee on a ‘common law contract’ and give them a fancy job title, they will be award-free, particularly if they are paid well above the award rates. The recent case of Karen Muscat v Chase Commercial Pty Limited [2018] FWC … Continue reading

23 redundancies with no consultation? Federal Court says ‘that’s OK’

By Shannon Walker on November 19, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

An employer decides to abolish 23 full-time positions due to a lack of funding. Surely this is a major change likely to have a significant effect on employees which obliges the employer to consult with those employees as per the consultation term in their enterprise agreement? While many would say ‘yes, of course’, the Federal … Continue reading

Beware of repudiating the employment contract of an employee who intends to jump ship and join your competitor

By Shannon Walker on October 16, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Contracts

Your employee resigns to join your arch rival. You’re not worried because you know you have ‘water tight’ post-employment restraints in the contract of employment. But, if in reacting to the employee’s untimely resignation, you breach the contract and this breach amounts to a repudiation of the contract, then your restraints will be unenforceable. This … Continue reading

$1.7 million in damages for victim of workplace bullying

By Shannon Walker on September 3, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

The Queensland Supreme Court last month awarded $1,703,530 in damages against an employer, whose Chief Executive Officer’s “unjustified blaming, humiliation, belittling, isolation, undermining and contemptuous disregard” of the plaintiff employee resulted in serious psychiatric injury. The employer was found vicariously liable for the CEO’s actions and to have breached its own duty of care.… Continue reading

Enterprise bargaining – minor technical deficiencies can derail the whole process

By Shannon Walker on May 3, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

If your business is considering making an enterprise agreement, you must strictly comply with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) and ensure you use the newly amended Notice of Employee Representational Rights. For those who have already commenced bargaining, small mistakes made during the bargaining process may mean the parties’ … Continue reading

Employer can draw a “line in the sand” and not breach its good faith bargaining obligations

By Shannon Walker on April 25, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed an employer’s right to put a proposed enterprise agreement to employees for their approval, despite the union’s request to continue to bargain.… Continue reading

Employer not liable to compensate employee for stress caused by ‘stand-down’ meeting

By Shannon Walker on February 5, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

A recent decision of the District Court of Western Australia provides some positive news for employers facing a workers’ compensation claim for a stress-related injury caused by disciplinary action. At first instance in Woodside Energy v Kieronski [2016] WADC 144 the arbitrator held that Ms Kieronski was entitled to compensation for a psychiatric condition caused by … Continue reading

Employer prevented from offsetting higher annual salary against award entitlements

By Shannon Walker on October 17, 2016 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

A recent decision of the Western Australian Industrial Magistrates Court[1] has provided a timely reminder that, where employers pay an annualised salary to an award-covered employee, specific wording may be required in the contract of employment to ensure the higher salary can be offset against specific award entitlements that are not separately provided, such … Continue reading