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.

The Federal Government has taken further steps to implement outstanding recommendations contained in the Respect@Work Report (the Report), which was initially published by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner (the Commissioner) in January 2020.

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

Employers will often refer on previous warnings to support of a decision to terminate the employee’s employment for misconduct. However, a recent case involving Virgin Australia is a reminder for employers to give employees the opportunity to respond to any reliance on former warnings before making a decision to terminate.

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.

Victoria will be the first Australian jurisdiction to introduce legislation which prohibits the use the non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in relation to workplace sexual harassment.

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.

A question frequently asked by employers is whether you can terminate the employment of an employee who is on long-term personal or sick leave.

The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently came to a provisional view that there should be a modern award entitlement to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave. The Full Bench’s provisional view may be accessed here.

As discussed here, one of the key superannuation announcements in the May 2021 budget was the removal of the minimum $450 threshold for super guarantee purposes.

ake super guarantee contributions on time is not a breach of the super laws, but it will trigger tax for the employer, and potentially penalties.

In the recent Australian Administrative Tribunal (AAT) decision of Trustee for Virdis Family Trust t/a Rickard Heating Pty Ltd v FC of T [2022] AATA 3, the AAT relied on the decision in Dental Corporation Pty Ltd v Moffet [2020] FCAFC 118 (Moffet) to find that a plumber who was engaged as a contractor was an employee for the purposes of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (SG Act).

The Mental Health and Wellbeing surcharge will commence from 1 January 2022 and is payable on Victorian taxable wages paid or payable from 1 January 2022 by an employer or a group of employers.

Whether an employee has genuine restrictions on disposing of an option/right or share issued under an employee share scheme (ESS) can determine whether tax can be deferred, and until when, under the ESS.