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 […]
In a recent unfair dismissal case, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) highlighted the challenges associated with managing remote workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Interestingly, the FWC considered the impact of Covid-19 on the employee in this case in deciding whether or not there was a valid reason for the dismissal and whether the dismissal was […]
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 […]
The majority of the High Court of Australia has overturned a controversial decision of the Federal Court regarding the calculation of paid personal leave. The High Court’s decision will come as a relief to employers as it clarifies that employees’ personal leave accruals do not vary based on the pattern of hours worked. The Full […]
In a recent unfair dismissal application the Fair Work Commission has commended the employer for its “scrupulously fair” treatment of a labourer who repeatedly failed to follow the most basic safety precautions and procedures. The case demonstrates the importance of maintaining procedural fairness in any investigation, performance improvement, record keeping and termination process to ensure […]
A full bench of the Victorian Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision of a single Judge who held that a worker was an employee and not an independent contractor. The Court considered and applied the common law test for an employee in the context of a multi-party arrangement. The Facts George Barca (Mr Barca) worked […]
Brisbane Auto Recycling (the Company) has become Australia’s first company to be convicted of industrial manslaughter under Queensland’s new Work Health and Safety (WHS) industrial manslaughter laws. The Company purchased used motor vehicles for resale, recycling and parts. Its two directors, Mr Asadulla Hussaini and Mr Mohammad Ali Jan Karimi (the Directors), who both supervised […]
On 10 June 2020, the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Review) Act 2020 (NSW) (the Act) came into effect, introducing a number of significant reforms to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 No 10 (NSW) (WHS Act). The changes include an expansion of gross negligence, prohibition of insurance contract indemnities, and increases in fines for WHS breaches. The new […]
As part of the four yearly review of modern awards which we briefly summarised In our November edition of Vision in the Workplace, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has handed down a decision which affects employers paying annualised salaries to employees covered by modern awards. Employers who currently pay annualised salaries to certain award-covered employees […]
Thank you to everyone who attended our Christmas Breakfast Seminar on Friday, 6 December 2019. We trust everyone enjoyed the breakfast and opportunity to mingle and network with other clients. Angharad Owens-Strauss’ presentation offered a simplified refresher on the termination process. Angharad covered the key issues of: redundancy, underperformance and what constitutes serious misconduct. Her […]