The 2019 Australian Budget is introducing funding to target sham contracting and a labour hire registration program. These initiatives are in part addressing recommendations made in the Migrant Worker’s Taskforce Report issued in March 2019. Sham Contracting Crackdown Unit The Government has announced that from 2019-20 it will provide the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) with […]
Victoria Police’s recent rejection of a detective’s request for flexible working arrangements was held to lack reasonable business grounds in a recent decision before the Fair Work Commission Full Bench (the FWCFB). The decision sheds light on the considerations employers must heed when faced with a flexible work request. The 57-year-old detective wished to “compress” […]
The Fair Work Commission has released its annual report for 2017-2018. We set out some of the key aspects of the report as follows: General Protections 4,117 general protection applications involving dismissal were lodged (up from 3,729 last year and steadily increasing from 3,270 in 2015-2016). Of the finalised applications, 27% were finalised with a […]
With the festive season and Christmas rush approaching, the workplace can become stressful and prone to Work Health and Safety (WHS) risks. Christmas Parties going awry are not the only workplace legal risks employers need to be aware of during the festive period. SafeWork Australia statistics reported that the months of January, November and December […]
The New South Wales District Court (NSWDC) have imposed heavy penalties on both H & F Mechanical Pty Ltd (the Company) and business partners Max Hoffman and Laurence Hoffman (the Partnership) for modifying a timber cutting machine and knowingly allowing an employee to use the modified machine. The Partnership was found to have a Primary […]
As part of the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) 4-yearly review of Modern Awards it issued a decision to insert a casual conversion clause (Casual Conversion Clause) into over 80 Modern Awards. The Casual Conversion Clause will be operative from 1 October 2018 and it will allow eligible casuals to request conversion to permanent employment. In […]
On 5 September 2018, the Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018 (Vic) (the Act) passed through parliament. The Act will come into effect on 1 April 2019, and will grant portable long service leave to employees within the Community Services, Security and Contract Cleaning sectors. Under the new scheme, eligible employees will accumulate long service […]
It has been widely reported that food delivery company Foodora Australia Pty Ltd (Foodora) recently closed its Australian operations. Foodora’s closure had created great uncertainty over two significant cases recently brought against Foodora for alleged use of sham contracting to underpay its workers. The two cases were expected to be pivotal in the ongoing battle […]
Earlier this year, the Fair Work Commission Full Bench (FWCFB) ruled on updating all industry and occupation awards to include a clause enabling most employees to take up to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave (FDV Leave) per year. As of 1 August 2018, 2.3 million Australian employees under Modern Awards now […]
A recent decision by the Federal Court of Australia (FCA) has demonstrated the importance of accurate and up to date record keeping, particularly relating to the payment of employees. The FCA has recently imposed a fine of almost $100,000 on a former Caltex franchisee (Mr Dagher) who was found to be falsifying the wage records […]