By Samantha Lyon, Senior Associate
COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the way we live and work. Businesses all around Australia and the world are having to adapt quickly to remote and flexible working arrangements. In addition to managing the complexities that come with these matters, employers will need to keep abreast of and comply with statutory obligations that are being introduced by authorities and are changing daily.
By Mark Cox, Director and Renae Harg, Senior Associate
New annualised salary clauses for a number of modern awards come into effect as of 1 March 2020. The annualised salary clauses increase the obligations on employers in relation to modern award annualised salaries, including notifications to employees, increased record keeping obligations and reconciliation of the amounts paid.
By Joanna Knoth, Senior Associate and Gemma Little, Associate
An employee is not be entitled to be paid for any “reasonable additional hours” they work. However, an employee may be entitled to be paid overtime, penalty rates or other allowances for time worked outside of or in addition to their ordinary hours of work if they are covered by an award or enterprise agreement.
By Joanna Knoth, Senior Associate and Renae Harg, Senior Associate
Now that the festive season is over, employers can focus on the year ahead. What New Year’s resolutions are you making for your business?
Below are some practical New Year’s resolutions that may minimise your employment law risks.
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 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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