Posted in Australia, CoronavirusWhen extending Part 6-4C of the Fair Work Act (Cth) (FW Act), the government recognised there would be employers who had previously qualified for the JobKeeper scheme, but who would no longer qualify to participate in the scheme following its extension past the end of September 2020.… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaIn a landmark decision, the Full Court of the Federal Court has ruled that the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has power to determine when, and whether, a dismissal from employment has occurred when dealing with a general protections application.[1]… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaOn 3 September 2020, the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (JobKeeper Payments) Amendment Act 2020 (Cth) (Act)[1] passed both houses of the Commonwealth Parliament, extending the JobKeeper scheme, varying employer JobKeeper eligibility requirements and making amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act).… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaThe Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has issued a guidance note (Guidance) in relation to financial reporting and audit requirements under Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act).[1]… Continue Reading
Posted in Australia, GeneralIn August 2020, the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission released its new and updated guideline for complying with the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) (Equal Opportunity Act): Preventing and responding to workplace sexual harassment (Guideline).… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaUnder the whistleblowing regime in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (CA), it is unlawful for someone to cause or threaten to cause detriment to, or victimise, a person because they believe or suspect that the person has made, may have made, or could make a whistleblowing disclosure (Whistleblower). Very substantial civil and criminal sanctions apply for both the individual engaging in detrimental conduct and the corporation that employs the Whistleblower and the antagonist.… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaThe Full Court of the Federal Court has handed down a decision with potentially far-reaching ramifications for the manner in which principals deal with superannuation in respect of independent contractors (Dental Corporation v Moffet [2020] FCAFC 188).… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaThe Federal Court of Australia (FCA) recently considered this issue in Broadlex Services Pty Ltd v United Workers’ Union [2020] FCA 867,[1] holding that an employee who was required to transfer her full-time employment to part-time was entitled to redundancy pay, because the employer no longer required the full-time job to be performed by anyone.
Facts
On 1 May 2014, Broadlex Services Pty Ltd (Employer) hired Ms Brizitka Vrtkovski (Employee) as a full-time cleaner.
On 15 August 2017 the Employer informed the Employee that “due to consideration of work flow an … Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaOn 16 June 2020, the Victorian Parliament passed the Wage Theft Bill 2020 in response to a series of high-profile underpayment cases. The prevalence of these underpayments, according to Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy, indicates that the civil penalty regime under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) is failing to provide a sufficient deterrent against wage theft. Victoria’s answer to wage theft – meaning the dishonest underpayment of employees – is to introduce criminal liability as a deterrent and establish a new body to investigate and prosecute wage theft offences.… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaThe Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales considered this issue in Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer v Hill [2020] NSWCA 54,[1] confirming that a death which happened while working from home occurred as a result of injury arising out of and in the course of the deceased’s employment.… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaOn 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
Posted in AustraliaQueensland’s first industrial manslaughter sentence was handed down yesterday by the Brisbane District Court for the death of a worker at an auto recycling yard in 2019. … Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaLaws introducing the offence of industrial manslaughter in the resources sector were passed by Queensland Parliament on 20 May 2020.… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaMost employers are conscious of their health and safety obligations for when employees are at work, but what about employer obligations to employees travelling to and from work? A recent New South Wales decision highlights the importance of employers taking a holistic approach to fatigue management both within and outside of the workplace.… Continue Reading
Posted in Australia, CoronavirusOn 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
Posted in Australia, CoronavirusThe Fair Work Commission (FWC) has acted on applications made by employer associations and unions by varying a number of awards to introduce temporary flexibility provisions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated public health orders. These important measures aim to provide employers with the flexibility to resource their businesses appropriately in the current climate whilst maintaining compliance with the applicable modern award, allowing them to continue active operations and retain employees.… Continue Reading
Posted in Australia, CoronavirusThe Federal Government announced 30 March 2020 that it intends to pass legislation to introduce a wage subsidy, called the JobKeeper payment, for eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19.… Continue Reading
Posted in AustraliaThe Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has recently released its ‘Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces’ report (Report) in response to the decision in June 2018 by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, and the then Minister for Women, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, to launch the independent national inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces (Inquiry).… Continue Reading
Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, CoronavirusAs 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
Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, CoronavirusAustralia, like many countries, continues to closely monitor the evolving coronavirus situation, caused by the outbreak of a novel coronavirus first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.… Continue Reading
Posted in Asia Pacific, AustraliaAs flagged in our recent post, “What to look out for in employment law in 2020”, new annualised wages clauses in 18 modern awards are in effect from 1 March 2020.… Continue Reading
Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, CoronavirusLast 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 the coronavirus “emergency”.… Continue Reading
Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, CoronavirusAustralia, 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
Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General2019 saw many legislative and jurisprudential developments in employment law which should be top of mind for employers moving forward in 2020. In this article, we summarise the main issues to watch in 2020.
The underpayment crisis – “wage theft”
The recent spate of very public self-reported wage underpayments by businesses has resulted in increased scrutiny into “wage theft”. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), for example, has prioritised issues of wage underpayment and non-compliance with awards and the National Employment Standards (NES). The FWO will also take a stronger approach to enforcement in relation to non-compliance, … Continue Reading
