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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 drinks after work could leave them with bigger consequences than just a hangover. In the recent decision, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission upheld reinstatement of an employee who was dismissed for drinking to excess at an after work event and her ensuing conduct. This decision illustrates the pitfalls of managing conduct at after work drinks both for workers and employers, and provides some clear guidance…
Read MoreIt 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. Regardless of where you stand in the debate, there is no doubt that it has touched on many issues that are important to Australians, and perhaps more importantly for present purposes, noteworthy from an industrial relations perspective. The story so far On 10 April 2019, Folau, an outspokenly devout Christian, made a post on his public Instagram account, stating that among other things, “hell awaits” thieves, atheists,…
Read MoreFrom 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, this Act amends several key items of legislation to allow greater protections for whistleblowers who come forward to report misconduct and malfeasance. Protection for eligible whistleblowers With companies being prescribed as regulated entities, any officer or employee of a company who makes a disclosure to ASIC or another regulatory body is an eligible whistleblower protected under the Act. What disclosures are protected? A disclosure by an eligible whistleblower, such as…
Read MoreFollowing 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 sought. On Friday 7 June 2019, the Fair Work Ombudsman announced the completion of its investigation into Uber Australia Pty Ltd, and its engagement of drivers. Sandra Parker, the Ombudsman, said “The weight of evidence from our investigation establishes that the relationship between Uber Australia and the drivers is not an employment relationship.” In a further development, the Ombudsman has since announced on 21 June 2019 the discontinuation…
Read MoreIn 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 progressing their plans to amalgamate and form the fourth-largest union in the country. Between 24 July and 28 August 2019, members of United Voice (UV) and the National Union of Workers (NUW) will vote to decide whether or not to amalgamate to become the United Workers’ Union (UWU). This comes at a time when each union is fresh off a disappointing result in the federal election for the…
Read MoreAfter 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 considered reasonable?” betrays a misapprehension of the topic, as the answer is particular to your business and often different for each individual employee. In this article, we break down the top 3 most common myths about “reasonable additional hours”, and what it means for your business. (X) number of hours are “reasonable” for an employee to work The Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act) expressly provides that an…
Read MoreWhat 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 whether to trade job security for the ability to readily downsize your workforce, or the ability to set an annualised salary. While the intricacies between permanent and casual employees have been well documented, less has been said about part-time and full-time employees. In fact, under the General Retail Industry Award 2010 (Retail Award) and Fast Food Industry Award 2010 (Fast Food Award), apart from rates of pay, full-time and…
Read MoreThe 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 the principle of fairness.”[1] There are of course a number of rules posited by industrial relations scholars about what is required by procedural fairness (or ‘natural justice’ as it’s often referred to) when conducting workplace investigations. The fundamental characteristic of all these rules relate to a simple question: was the person given an opportunity to explain their position and affect the outcome of the investigation?[2] From this question…
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