News, Updates & Events

Enforcing Restraints of Trade: Delay of Three Months Fatal for Employer’s Case

A recent notable ruling has underscored the critical importance of prompt action for employers aiming to enforce restraint of trade clauses against former employees. A delay of just three months in initiating legal proceedings proved detrimental, leading to the dismissal of an employer’s application for interim relief. Scyne Advisory Business Services Pty Ltd v Heaney […]

Enhancing Support for Working Families: Changes to Paid Parental Leave in Australia

Paid parental leave is set to undergo significant changes starting from July 2024, offering increased support for working families across Australia. The passage of the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023, unamended by the Senate on 18 March 2024, marks a pivotal moment in bolstering parental benefits nationwide. Under the […]

Large Penalty for Adverse Action

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCA) has recently awarded almost $100,000.00 in damages and penalties to an employee for their employer’s unlawful adverse action. Judge Riley found that the company Asaleo Personal Care Pty Ltd (the Company) placed the sourcing manager (Mr Lees) on a performance review and then dismissed him because […]

Important Exceptions to the Unfair Dismissal High Income Threshold

According to s 382 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘the Act’)­­, those earning more than $162,000 per annum cannot file an Unfair Dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’). However, two recent cases have demonstrated a few important exceptions to this rule. Brian Cowan v I.P.C. Pty Ltd [2023] In the first […]

Tackling Wage Underpayment in Australia: An Overview of Proposed Reforms

Background The Albanese Government made a pre-election promise to implement recommendations made by the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce to tackle wage underpayment and non-payment. These reforms would see underpaying employers to face fines greater than $4 million or three times the underpaid sum involved. Individuals such as directors and HR managers would also face penalty charges […]

Key Takeaways from Wipro v State of NSW: Long Service Leave and Out-of-State Work Experience

The recent NSW Court of Appeal decision in Wipro Limited v State of NSW has departed from the longstanding interpretation of the Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW). The Background The employee in this case the applicant sought to claim long service leave pay after working for 11 years at Indian IT corporation, Wipro. He worked at Wipro’s Indian […]

Chief of Staff’s Bid to Keep Job + Unreasonable Hours

On 3 February 2023, the Federal Court (“the Court”) heard a bid by Teal MP Dr. Monique Ryan’s chief of staff, Sally Rugg to keep her job until it finishes dealing with her claims that the Federal Government sacked her for refusing to work unreasonable extra hours and subjected her to “hostile conduct”.   Background  The […]

Federal Government to Introduce Criminal Wage Theft Laws

The Federal Government is currently in talks with unions, employer groups, and states and territories to develop new federal criminal wage theft legislation. These proposed laws will introduce prison sentences for the worst cases of employer wage theft and complement criminal wage theft laws that have already been implemented in Victoria and Queensland since 2021. […]

FWC Addresses Overtime Loophole

The Fair Work Commission (“FWC”) has proposed changes to the modern award covering IT professionals, engineers, scientists, gaming sector employees due to underpayment of overtime entitlements and excessive litigation associated with the same. The Association of Professional Engineers Scientists and Managers Australia (“APESMA”) have expressed concern over unrecorded overtime work for employees covered by the […]

No Reasonable Basis for Refusing Flexibility Bid 

The Fair Work Commission (“FWC”) has recently found that Ambulance Victoria (“the Employer”) lacked reasonable grounds for rejecting a paramedic’s flexibility request to work ‘bespoke’ night shifts so she could care for her three young children.   Background Natasha Fyfe (“the Applicant”) is a young mum with three children and also an experienced Advance Life Support […]