News

 FWA has this morning immediately terminated industrial action at Qantas for 21 day – extendable by a further three weeks – following hearings that went on until 2am this morning. The Full Bench decision followed on from the action of Qantas on Saturday to lockout its workforce and ground all its aircraft.  The dramatic action …

The decision by Fair Work Australia Commissioner Raffaelli on15 September, 2011 upholding the termination by an employer of an employee via a texted message has renewed interest in the way managers and staff should communicate matters between themselves.  While the decision centred around the issue of whether a painter failing to add an essential additive …

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recently released updated guidelines for employers on how to ensure advertisements for jobs in their businesses do not lead them to breach Australian Consumer Law (ACL). For those more used to the provisions of the Trade Practices Act in regulating this area, the ACL are part of …

The recent series of claims and counter claims on Australia’s productivity, ignited by the address by Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics on 26 August, 2011 appear to be raising the temperature on Fair Work Australia to examine workplace flexibility measures during its 2012 review of the …

A key decision for any employer remains deciding on the best way to employ new staff. With latest ABS statistics showing that full-time permanent workers now consist of less than 50% of the Australian workforce, here are some of the options available to employers in 2011: Part-time staff Benefits – offer flexibility in hours and …

Employers trying to prepare for the introduction of nation-wide OHS laws on 1 January, 2012 should take note of the new National Compliance and Enforcement Policy that was endorsed last month. This policy will have a key impact on the way you implement and monitor OHS systems in your workplaces – while workplaces across Australia …

The case of PSA v Director-General of Department of Human Services (Juvenile Justice) [2010] NSWIRComm 32, provides a timely warning to managers responsible for making decisions on relevent disciplinary action following findings of misconduct, particularly for those working within the NSW Public Sector Employment and Management Act. In this case, Marks J declared invalid a …

The new Federal independent contractor’s legislation commenced operation from 1 March 2007. Definition The Common Law test of an independent contractor remains applicable. The new Act is intended ‘to recognise independent contracting as a legitimate form of work arrangements that is primarily commercial; and to prevent interference with the terms of genuine independent contracting arrangements.’ …

In the recent case of Buttigieg v Shoalhaven City Council [2010] NSWIRCComm 43, the Full Bench of the NSW IRC refused an appeal against a decision of Connor C which had determined that while in certain circumstances a demotion for disciplinary reasons could constitute a dismissal, in the case of Mr Buttigieg in his role …

Modern awards are one the biggest issues that many employers are grappling with at the moment. Almost all modern awards include provisions to ’transition’ employers and employees from their pre-modern award entitlements to the modern award system. This transition period begins on 1 July, 2010 so it is important for employers to check their modern award …