As part of the Fair Work Commission’s (‘FWC’) modern award review, the FWC Full Bench (‘FWCFB’) has handed down its decision on the union movement’s “Casual and Part-time Employment Case” and in doing so, it has put forward a draft model casual conversion clause (‘Casual Conversion Clause’). The decision to include a Casual Conversion Clause […]
The Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) has held Note Printing Australia’s (‘the Employer’) summary dismissal of an employee, Mr Hemmingson, “harsh” and “unreasonable” primarily due to a delay between the conduct warranting dismissal, and the dismissal itself. On 21 July 2016, Mr Hemmingson sent a series of emails that contained the Employer’s confidential and sensitive information […]
The consultation obligations imposed by modern awards can leave employers confused about when consultation is required and to what extent. In regards to award-covered employees, it is crucial that employers carefully consider and adhere to the relevant modern award provision in order to mitigate the risk of a monetary penalty, or that an otherwise genuine […]
The right of union officials to enter a workplace is strictly regulated by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“the FW Act”) and the relevant work health and safety legislation in your state (in this article, we refer to and focus on the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (“the WHS Act”)). Although the […]
A full bench of the Industrial Relations Court South Australia (“the SA IRC”) has upheld charges against an engineering company, Safe is Safe Pty Limited (“the Company”) and its officer, Hamish Munro, for “recklessness” following the death of an eight year old girl at the Royal Adelaide Show in 2014 after being ejected from an […]
A recent Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) decision to uphold the termination of a key account manager’s employment is a timely reminder to check that your workplace policies are up-to-date and sufficiently detailed to ensure any breach can be clearly identified and communicated. The FWC held that Cosmetic Suppliers Pty Ltd T/A Coty (‘the Respondent’) did […]
A recent Full Federal Court of Australia (‘FCA’) decision has clarified the intention and scope of sections 89 and 98 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘FW Act’), which ostensibly seek to preclude employers from deducting public holidays from annual leave or personal/carer’s leave balances, when such public holidays coincide with a period of paid annual […]
In a recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia (‘FCA’) [1] the Full Bench of the FCA held that BHP Coal (‘the Defendant’) was entitled to dismiss a boilermaker (‘the Employee’) who refused to attend a company ordered medical appointment, which was intended to assess his fitness to return to work. In 2011 the […]
Each workplace is unique. An effective workplace policy will ensure that its workplace policies and practices evolve with the organisation and its internal and external environment. That said, the reason for policies remains the same: to mitigate legal risks for the organisation and align its employees with the organisation’s expectations and procedures. For many human […]
Two recent decisions of the FWC have once again highlighted the importance of strict adherence to the requirements in FWC forms, particularly those pertaining to bargaining for and approval of an enterprise agreement (‘EA’). In Uniline Australia Limited [2016], the Full Bench declined to approve the EA on the basis of the deficient Notice of […]