A January 2026 judgment of the Labour Appeal Courthighlights the effect of vague drafting within a settlement agreement.

An employee’s alleged unfair dismissal dispute was settled on the basis that “the [employer] agrees to assist with the completion of the forms as required by the [employee], as applicable to the employer.”

The employee…

In February 2026, the Labour Court ruled that an employer’s decision to unilaterally abolish the contractual payment of a 13th cheque to its employee amounted to a breach of contract. The court emphasised the trite position that contractual obligations are not optional and cannot be mischaracterised as a workplace practice to avoid obligatory fulfilment.…

The NSW Parliament has narrowly passed the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2025, introducing the most significant update to the State’s WHS framework in more than a decade. The reforms, an Australian first, respond to the rapid expansion of AI‑enabled management tools, algorithmic scheduling, digital surveillance technologies and automated decision‑making systems…

In a January 2026 judgment, the Labour Appeal Court clarified the effect of a plea bargain agreement within internal workplace disciplinary process. Although such agreements are a useful and accepted feature of labour relations, they do not necessarily bind disciplinary chairpersons, and mishandling them can render a dismissal procedurally unfair.

Although more commonplace in…

The new collective Labour agreement (CLA) for temporary agency workers took effect on 1 January 2026. From that date, agency workers are entitled to employment conditions equivalent to those of employees of the hirer in comparable positions. This goes significantly further than the previous hirer’s remuneration rules and aligns with the objectives of the draft…

The OECD has published the 2025 update of the Model Tax Convention (MTC) and its accompanying Commentary. This update contains tightened guidelines on the concept of a permanent establishment, particularly in situations where employees work cross‑border and remotely.

When a company has a permanent establishment in another country, this can have consequences for corporate income…

The Dutch Supreme Court has recently confirmed that temporary agency work must, by definition, have a temporary nature, as required by the European Temporary Agency Work Directive. This ruling is significant for organisations that deploy agency workers for long periods: a general need for flexibility is insufficient to justify prolonged use of agency workers.

The…