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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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