Cal and Al are back again, this week taking a look at the issue of swearing at work. What are the consequences of letting out an accidental curse word when you stub ...

The last major study into mental health in Australia by the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed that 15% of Australians had experienced an affective disorder like depression, while 26.3% have experienced an ...

In the current enforcement climate, it is valuable to note a recent case in which the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) was successful in obtaining an increase of fines on appeal to almost ...

Fair Work Commission losing patience over defective workplace investigations By Lucy Harper and Calum Woods, NRA Legal Please note, this decision was quashed by the Full Bench of the Commission on 11 November 2019. ...

When getting legless can lead to being jobless: lessons learned from after-work drinks By Thomas Parer and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Employers and employees are starting to realise that grabbing some casual ...

Since its introduction in 2013, the Fair Work Commission’s anti-bullying jurisdiction has attracted its fair share of commentary. Of the 700 anti-bullying applications filed last year, a total of 53 proceeded to ...

It has been heralded as the test case on where to draw the line on the freedom to practise religion, and how much say an employer has in their employees’ personal lives. ...

From 1 July 2019, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2018 came into effect. A response in part to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, ...

Playing musical chairs with an employment contract can be risky business. This usually happens when an employee doesn’t return a signed contract when starting a new job, and their employer allows them ...

Following a spate of recent announcements by the Fair Work Ombudsman, it seems the employment status of workers in the gig economy will continue to avoid the judicial scrutiny that many had ...

In what may be indicative of a growing trend in the trade union movement, Australia’s largest blue-collar unions outside the CFMMEU – United Voice and the National Union of Workers – are ...

After part-time employment, reasonable additional hours is one the most commonly misunderstood concepts for employers in the retail and quick service industries. In fact, even the question “how many additional hours would be ...

What category you choose to employ someone under (full-time, part-time or casual) has more implications than simply a cost analysis of annual/sick leave or casual loading. There’s more to think about than ...

The Fair Work Commission (per Deputy President Anderson) stated recently that a workplace investigation “is not a court of law or a quasi-judicial proceeding. It is an internal disciplinary process guided by ...

With the Corporations Amendment (Strengthening Protections for Employee Entitlements) Act 2018 (Cth) (the Amendment Act) taking effect last month, now is an apt time to reflect on how officers of a company are subject ...

SafeWork Australia reports that approximately six per cent of all accepted workers’ compensation claims relate to work-related mental health conditions. It was further reported that the most common causes of the claims were: work ...

Late last year, the media introduced us to Angela Williamson, an employee of Cricket Australia allegedly sacked after she posted on Twitter criticising the Tasmanian Government’s policy on abortion laws. Ms Williamson ...

The nature of retail means that public holiday requirements can be quite complex. This year, a late Easter means up to five public holidays will fall in the space of a week, ...

With the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FW Act) nearing its tenth anniversary in April, now is an apt time to reflect on how the landscape of industrial law has changed both because ...

Workers’ compensation legislation can be complicated and confusing, even to experts, and the recent Queensland case of Mandep Sarkaria v Workers’ Compensation Regulator [2019] ICQ 001 aptly demonstrates just how technically bewildering this legislation ...

In the first charge of reckless conduct to be successfully tried under the harmonised work health and safety legislation, a director of a Queensland roofing company has been sentenced to 12 months ...

The Australian Labor Party’s 48th Annual Conference was held in mid-December 2018, a significant event which determined the key elements of Labor policy heading towards this year’s Federal election. A 225-page national platform ...

Customer misbehaviour, aggression and violence continues to be a challenge for employers and employees in the retail and fast food industries. Last year, the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) shed ...

A supermarket retailer has successfully defended an unfair dismissal application despite the employee’s explanation that her deteriorating behaviour and performance was due to difficulties she was encountering in her personal life. In ...

For a long time now – since the Fair Work Ombudsman first started prosecuting employers under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – it has generally been understood that accidental or inadvertent non-compliance with ...

They say that smooth seas don’t make skilled sailors. Looking ahead to known and predicted changes in the workplace relations space in 2019, HR and People Management professionals can look forward to ...

For many retail businesses, criminal history checks make a lot of sense. With responsibilities such as handling cash, dealing with members of the public, and working with young people, retailers are required ...