Our workplace relations team has prepared a practical guide to navigating common issues that employers face when rostering part-time employees who are covered by an award or enterprise agreement.

Under the Sex Discrimination Act, employers and ‘persons conducting a business or undertaking’ have a legal duty to take ‘reasonable and proportionate measures’ to eliminate, as far as possible:

The recent case of Lau v Moorilla Estate Pty Ltd [2024] TASCAT 58 revolved around a conflict between an artwork, specifically designed to be discriminatory for artistic purposes, and the provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas) (the Act).

The recent case of Lau v Moorilla Estate Pty Ltd [2024] TASCAT 58 revolved around a conflict between an artwork, specifically designed to be discriminatory for artistic purposes, and the provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas) (the Act).

Our workplace relations team has prepared an employer guidance note about shift worker annual leave following a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission.

Recent amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 expand employee rights to make flexible working arrangement requests.  The changes also require employers to follow a detailed process upon receipt of such requests. The amendments also permit employees to escalate their requests and seek orders from the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

In an interesting decision traversing both industrial relations and public international law, the Federal Court has found that the former Indian High Commissioner to Australia committed significant breaches of the Fair Work Act between September 2015 and May 2016. 

The second tranche of workplace relations reforms have now received Royal Assent, bringing into force the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Act 2023 (Cth) (Entitlements Act) on 1 July 2023. It is important that employers are aware of the changes and how these changes will impact the workplace.

Almost one year into its two-year pilot, the Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee scheme has paid out more than one million hours of sick and carer’s leave to casual employees at a cost of more than $22 million.  The scheme is currently fully funded by the Victorian Government. 

Recently, the paid family and domestic violence leave entitlement provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 came into force.  This new entitlement is available to nearly all employees in Australia and imposes new obligations on employers.  So, what is the new entitlement and what do employers need to do when they are faced with a request to take the leave? We provide the answers in our Employment Law team’s most recent article.

The Supreme Court of Victoria has imposed record penalties against a labour hire provider and its director / secretary for contraventions ‘striking at the heart’ of the purposes of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic).

The Federal Court has provided guidance regarding the approval of settlement agreements and settlement distribution schemes in the employment context in the recent case of Bradshaw v BSA Limited (No 2).

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) found an employer to be vicariously liable for the unlawful sexual harassment of an employee. The employer was ordered to pay $150,000.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently held that a general protections application submitted seven minutes late warranted an extension of time because of exceptional circumstances.

It is common for employers to face conflicting versions of events when investigating sexual harassment complaints. When dealing with such instances, employers are required to assess the reliability and credibility of the evidence to make findings on the balance of probabilities.

Acting with emotion (rather than logic) can unfortunately lead cause an employer to make poor or irrational decisions about terminating an employee’s employment.

Employees previously worked from home exclusively because of public health orders that prevented them from attending the office due to COVID-19. Following the lifting of restrictions, some businesses have returned to the physical office while others have adopted a hybrid work arrangement.

In the recent decision of Pierce Field v Department Of Finance [2022] FWC 1619 (24 June 2022), the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found that procedural deficiencies (including dismissal via email) and the denial of natural justice outweigh instances where dismissal could otherwise be considered valid.