Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Fair Work”
by Rob Sheppard and Taylah Cooper [IMPORTANT NOTE: this article has been updated as at 06/03/24] [Approx 3.5 min read] The balance between work and life has become an almost continual topic of conversation in the post-Covid SME business world. With the Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) Bill 2023 (the ‘amendment’) passing into law, there is now a legal ‘right to disconnect’ for Australian workers established. This amendment to the Fair Work Act 2009 is an attempt to place …
2020 saw many challenges and opportunities for Australian businesses thanks to the effects of COVID-19. One of the more significant in our opinion was the promised amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (the ‘FW Act’). The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 finally passed both Houses of Parliament on 22 March 2021 – but not before Parliament made several amendments that significantly stripped it to back (for a full list of what was being …
No-one can argue that COVID-19 hasn’t dramatically changed the working landscape for many businesses… sometimes not for the better! However, one of the positive things to come from the pandemic was agreement that a much-needed shakeup of Australian Industrial Relations (IR) laws was needed to make it easier for businesses of any size to navigate a complex awards system. So it was great to hear that on 9 December 2020, the Australian Government introduced its Industrial Relations Reforms – Supporting Australia’s …
The Australian employment environment was rocked last year following the Federal Court of Australia decision in Workpac v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131. In short, this decision found that employers who incorrectly classify employees as casual instead of full-time or part-time could be responsible for back paying various entitlements under the National Employment Standards (NES). An immediate cry went up that this was effectively allowing ‘double-dipping’ for casuals to receive their casual loading (to cover not receiving the benefits of a permanent employee) …
I recall going to my very first company Christmas party in my younger days and watching in fascination as the normally quiet office receptionist (having had a few too many cocktails) complained loudly about the lack of a bonus that year. In hindsight, that was the easiest part of the night to deal with as her later heckling of the ‘boss’ (and then the ‘big boss’) during their ‘thanks-for-the-year-that-was’ speech made everyone so uncomfortable that the party basically ended by …
Picture this… one of your casual employees has asked to see you tomorrow morning to discuss wanting to go permanent. They really caught your attention when they mentioned something about you ‘have to let them because they heard on the news last night that all casuals can now go permanent if they ask‘. Given the sometimes complex and varied changes in our industrial relations systems in Australia, you can be forgiven for being on the backfoot with this question. However, …
Hands up if you know that casual staff can’t claim for unfair dismissal? If that’s you – think again. In the 2018 decision Gwatkin v Sai Group of Businesses t/as Premier Hotel Pinjarra*, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) held that a casual employee was entitled to an unfair dismissal remedy on the basis they met the minimum employment period, that their work pattern was ‘regular and systematic’ and they had an ongoing expectation of work. [cue sound of record needle …
In the same way that all business owners are in the business of sales and marketing – all business owners with staff are in the business of human resources (HR). Why do we say that? It can cost up to 50% of a team member’s salary to replace them if you don’t recruit the right person first time around – yep, that’s $35,000 for someone on $70,000 Wages are the single most reported cost pressure for WA businesses – so …
Taking on a franchise has loads of benefits for starting your first business. Don’t know how to market your product? The franchisor does. How do you compete with multinationals? Franchises act like a cooperative in this regard. But how do you legally hire and fire your team (plus everything else in-between)? Well, from an employment perspective, this is where you do need to understand that you’re still an employer in your own right…albeit franchisors now stand to bear some of …
In your business’s lifetime, there may come a point you think about changing your business structure. If you’re thinking of becoming a Pty Ltd entity, or making any change that changes which systems of industrial relations apply to your business, there are some things to considering at the planning stage 1) There are two industrial relations systems that apply in Australia The national system – managed by the Fair Work Ombudsman – covers Proprietary Limited companies – that is, Pty …
