The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) announced that the paid pandemic leave provisions within the three awards applying to aged care workers (the Aged Care Award, the Nurses Award and the HPSS Award) will have their operation extended to 29 March 2021. In it’s decision the FWC noted the recent Covid-19 improvement […]
In a recent decision, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has upheld the dismissal of a worker who resigned after Red Energy (the Employer) refused to buy him a desk to facilitate working from home. In fact, the Commission held that under the Covid-19 guidelines it should not be automatically expected that employers provide furniture for […]
On Thursday 29 October 2020, Stevens & Associates Lawyers held a Webinar in partnership with HowToo. With cocktails/mocktails in hand, our presenters – Jane Murray, Bernard Cheng and Lisa Vincent provided professional insight into the approaches taken by employers to encourage safe and effective working from home practices and information and evaluation of the pertinent […]
SafeWork NSW has announced the launch of a mobile reporting app. “The app is a quick, easy and confidential way for anyone to report unsafe worksite or work practices using only their mobile phone,” NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation Kevin Anderson said. “If you spot anything risky, play your part in protecting your […]
A recent Fair Work Commission (FWC) decision has provided employers with more clarity regarding the circumstances in which they can lawfully “stand down” employees. The decision has provided guidance for employers on the application of the stand down provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) in light of the COVID19 pandemic. Stand […]
Labour hire firm WorkPac has launched a High Court challenge seeking to overturn the Full Federal Court ruling of WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato (The WorkPac Decision) made last month. As reported in our May edition of Vision, the landmark ruling on casual employment sent shockwaves amongst employers after opening the way for casual employees who work […]
Whilst Woolworths Limited informed investors on Tuesday, 23 June 2020, that sales figures have remained strong despite consumers easing up on Covid-19 stockpiling, the announcement was tainted by a development in the Company’s wage underpayment scandal. A further $75 million in staff underpayments has been identified, blowing out the potential total of the underpayments to […]
The landmark decision of WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato has been handed down by the Full Federal Court. The Full Court held that a coal mining worker (Mr Rossato) was in fact a permanent employee with a right to paid leave entitlements, despite being classified and engaged as a casual employee under his employment contract […]
Restaurant chain, Hero Sushi has been fined a record total of $891,000 for deliberate underpayment of staff and attempting to cover up the underpayments by creating fraudulent documents. “The Most Significant Decision” Hero Sushi’s actions were compared to “fraud” by Federal Court judge Geoffrey Flick for its repeated attempts to conceal underpayments totalling $700,000 at […]
While the spotlight has been on physical health – that is, the prospect of workers contracting Covid – now that arrangements are in place (whether that be stand down, reduced hours, work from home or JobKeeper subsidy) it is crucial that businesses consider what measures are necessary to mitigate the impact on their employees’ mental […]