News: Employment Law

Fixed term employment contracts are a common means by which employers employ staff in Australia. A recent decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has now opened the door for employees engaged under fixed term employment contracts to bring unfair dismissal claims at the end of their contract term. Traditionally fixed term […]

A recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia has confirmed that the question of an employer’s right to suspend an employee is still not fully understood by a lot of employers. The case involved circumstances where an employee was “suspended” whilst certain aspects of that employee’s conduct was the subject of a review. Whilst […]

It is an unfortunate, but common occurrence, for employees to be injured in the workplace and entitled to some form of workers’ compensation. It can be a stressful and difficult time – for both the injured worker and the employer – and needs to be managed carefully, considerately and properly. On behalf of some clients, […]

Workforce participation and raising children are two very significant and crucial things that a lot of us do, so it’s important to know there are laws in place to help the two ‘jobs’ co-exist. Employees and employers have rights and responsibilities relating to pregnancy, parental leave and return to work under several different pieces of […]

What is a workplace policy? A workplace policy is a set of rules and principles guiding expected behaviours of employees. Policies can cover areas such as bullying and harassment in the workplace, social media use and work, health and safety, (WHS) to name just a few.  The policies should be customised to suit the particular […]

The workplace romance – exciting, intriguing, risky? Some recent high profile media cases have brought this topic to the fore, highlighting many serious legal issues such as breach of fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest, breach of workplace health and safety obligations, damage to reputation and constructive dismissals. A multi-platform media company was dragged through the […]

On 23 February 2017, the Fair Work Commission made a landmark decision ruling to vary Sunday and public holiday penalty rates. The ruling directs a reduction of penalty rates for permanent and casual employees paid under awards for retail, fast food, hospitality and pharmacy industries. These reductions include reducing the Sunday penalty rates from double […]

As business ebbs and flows, an important consideration for any owner or operator is how to manage staff in the event of a downturn. The reality for many businesses is that in tough times, a strategic downsize in staff levels via redundancy is necessary in order to maintain the operation of the business. In the […]

Be clear about the arrangement to avoid legal consequences. When that bright-eyed, eager student shows up on your doorstep offering their time and skills for free in exchange for the experience of working with you – it sounds like a win win situation. However, are unpaid internships too good to be true? Internship and unpaid […]

Should you regale the entire staff with your somewhat racist and definitely sexist joke? Is the office Christmas Party a good opportunity to make your move on Julie in accounts? If you don’t know the answer to questions like these, then you really need to read on, suggests employment lawyer TERRY MORGAN. With the festive […]