By Nikita Barsby, Special Counsel and Lauren Wright, Lawyer
An interview provides an employer with an opportunity to get to know prospective employees and assess their suitability for employment. Often, there are many questions an employer wants to ask a prospective employee – however care should be taken to avoid questions which can later be relied on by the interviewee to mount legal claims.
By Gemma Little, Associate
What can an employer do if an employee makes vexatious or baseless complaints in the pursuit of some ulterior purpose? These complaints might be made within the business, for example to a supervisor, HR or the Board, or externally, for example by way of a bullying application to the Fair Work Commission.
By Madeleine Brown, Associate
With the sharp increase in restrictions around the sale, promotion and public consumption of cigarettes over the last 15 years, it’s no wonder there’s confusion around smoking in the workplace.
By Nikita Barsby, Special Counsel and Madeleine Brown, Associate
The Fair Work Commission has refused an application for an extension of time to file an unfair dismissal application, following a detailed examination of a travelling employee’s social media activities and text messages which demonstrated that he was not incapacitated by depression and grief following his dismissal.
By Renae Harg, Senior Associate and Lauren Wright, Lawyer
WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131
The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has rejected WorkPac’s argument that the “industrial meaning” of the term “casual employee” has been incorporated into the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) for the purpose of the National Employment Standards (NES).
By Nikita Barsby, Special Counsel and Lauren Wright, Lawyer
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) recently conducted an audit of businesses throughout the eastern states of Australia which found that 72% of the businesses had breached workplace laws.[1] The audit resulted in the recovery of $471,904 for 616 workers across the 234 businesses audited. The most common breach was an underpayment of hourly rates, followed by non-existent or inadequate employment records.
By Mark Cox, Director, Gemma Little, Associate and Lauren Wright, Lawyer
The winter months often bring an increase in employees’ use of personal leave, primarily due to illness. An employee’s brief and temporary absence, whether due to illness or even injury, supported by adequate medical evidence, can usually be managed by the employer without issue.
However, difficulty and uncertainty arise where an employee takes extended personal leave with medical evidence that has little or no detail on the illness or injury suffered, or which offers no foreseeable return to work date. An employee’s extended absence can pose significant issues for the management and operation of a business. Navigating this situation can become increasingly complex if an employee has taken personal leave in response to a disciplinary or performance management process.
By Lauren Hodson, Law Clerk
The gender pay gap in Australia currently sits at a staggering 17.3% in base remuneration (in favour of men), which increases to 22.4% when looking at total remuneration.[1] This equates to approximately $16,183 p/a and $26,527 p/a respectively.
By Lauren Wright, Lawyer
In the employment law space, there has been growing debate on whether all Australian employees should have a minimum entitlement to take either paid or unpaid domestic violence leave. The debate was reinvigorated in March, when, as part of the four-yearly review of modern awards, the Fair Work Commission introduced 5 days’ unpaid domestic violence leave for all award-covered employees.
By Mark Cox, Director and Ruth Collins, Lawyer
It is a common misconception amongst employers that a senior position title and high income can exclude an employee from being covered by a modern award. Not so. Instead, employers must look to the principle purpose of the position the employee was performing to assess whether it is covered by the classifications of roles covered by the award.
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