June 2020 | NRA Legal

Domestic violence results in workers compensation payment

A half shot in black and white of a person extending their arms and showing the palm of their right hand, which covers their entire face. The motion is insinuating pushing something away or saying 'no'.

The need for employers to consider the impact of domestic and family violence on their workforce has been highlighted by the outbreak of COVID-19, with many domestic and family violence support services reporting a spike in cases as a result of lockdowns across the country. A recent case, Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer v Hill [2020] NSWCA 54, has illustrated…

Victorian Wage Theft Bill 2020 passes, introduces criminal offences for employers

By Lindsay Carroll

a photo of two hands acting as a bowl to carry a bunch of Australian coins

In the middle of a pandemic that has left the nation in economic turmoil and prompted Australia’s first recession since 1991, the Victorian Government has passed the Wage Theft Bill 2020 (Vic) which puts employers around Victoria at risk of criminal prosecution. The Bill creates new criminal offences in Victoria for employers and their officers who “dishonestly” withhold…

Changes to paid parental leave scheme

By Rebecca Goulter

A close up image of a mother's hand underneath a baby's hands.

On 11 June 2020 the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Bill 2020 passed both houses of Federal Parliament. The Bill received Royal Assent on 16 June 2020, and its changes will take effect from 1 July 2020. What is changing? Designed to improve women’s workforce participation, the Bill changes the paid parental leave (PPL) period from…

No hibernation for the Fair Work Ombudsman: Record penalties secured for wage non-compliance

By Lindsay Carroll

A close up of a referee's face as he blows a metal whistle with his left hand. The referee is wearing a black and white striped shirt and is standing on a grass sports field with a white goal post.

The pandemic hasn’t hindered the Fair Work Ombudsman’s (the FWO) efforts to investigate and prosecute wage non-compliance in the retail and fast food sectors. The FWO has recently secured record penalties against companies that have underpaid their workers and failed to satisfy their recordkeeping obligations. In May, following prosecution by the FWO, the Federal Court…

Federal Court opens door to casual leave claims

By Rebecca Goulter

A graphic of an open white wooden door and in the doorway shows a pastel sky with white and blue clouds and some vague scenery of mountains.

It was impossible to miss the headlines following the Full Court of the Federal Court handing down its 273-page judgment in the case WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato [2020] FCAFC 84 (Rossato). The case was a direct challenge to an earlier judgment of the Court in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131 (Skene), which found that another long-standing employee…