A 64 year old employee with six years’ service has been awarded reinstatement by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The FWC determined that there was no valid reason for dismissal and even if there was a valid reason, the termination of employment was still harsh given the employee’s personal and financial circumstances. The lessons for …
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In this Full Bench decision, it was found that the Commission lacked the necessary power to redact the wages rates in the published version of an enterprise agreement. This is the first Full Bench decision to consider the proper construction of sections 601(4)(b) and 594(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). This …
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The Full Federal Court has handed down an important decision about personal/carer’s leave entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). This decision is now the authority for how personal/carer’s leave should be treated and, for some employers, will have significant implications on how they treat personal/carer’s leave. The Court has said that: eligible …
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This recent Federal Circuit Court decision reminds us of the need for employers to ensure that redundancies are implemented on the basis of genuine operational reasons. A decision to terminate an employee’s employment or disestablish an employee’s position where there is a lack of evidence around the operational reasons for the decision is likely to …
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The recent headlines involving celebrity chef George Calombaris and the MADE Group of Restaurants serves as a warning to employers about workplace compliance and the consequences of getting it wrong. Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker says “the Fair Work Ombudsman is cracking down on underpayments in the Fast Food, Restaurant and Café sector, and we …
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The Conveyancing (Legislation) Amendment Act 2018 (Act) was passed by Parliament on 13 November 2018. It deals with aspects of electronic land transactions and off-the-plan sale contracts for residential property. The sections of the Act dealing with electronic land transactions took effect on assent being 22 November 2018. The sections introduced to provide greater protections …
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The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has once again confirmed that parties cannot alter the true nature of a relationship by putting a different label on it. “It would be hard to find a clearer case where the indicia were so strong as suggesting this to be an employment relationship and not a contractor relationship. I …
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The NSW Government has proclaimed 21 October 2019 as the day on which the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Amendment Act 2018 No 78 will commence, introducing the following key changes to the Building and Construction Industry Security of Act 1999 (NSW) (Act): the concept of “reference dates” has been removed with payment …
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National Minimum Wage Each financial year, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) Expert Panel for wage reviews undertakes it annual wage review and subsequently publishes its decision. This financial year, the FWC’s decision has resulted in the new national minimum wage being set at $740.80/week or $19.49/hour from the first full pay period on or after …
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In the wake of two well-publicised damaged apartment blocks, the NSW Government has released an update on their plan for legal reform within the building and construction landscape. In short, the NSW Government proposes further regulation and a statutory duty of care. In June 2019, the NSW Government released the “Building Stronger Foundations Discussion Paper” …
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