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As of 27 March 2021, it is now enshrined in the Fair Work Act 2009 that casual employees will generally be able to accept or refuse work when it is offered. While this has always been the case under common law and is technically not anything new, the fact that it is now provided for in black and white could see a shift in the rate at which shifts are accepted or rejected by casual employees. Many businesses became familiar with this feature of casual employment when, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they struggled to find adequate numbers…
Read MoreThe CEO of Tesla may seem to live in a different world from the rest of us – rockets, driverless cars and all – but it sometimes helps to be reminded that even the likes of Elon Musk are not free from the IR issues that all businesses must navigate. This was illustrated by a recent decision of the US National Labor Relations Board upholding a 2019 ruling that the company had illegally fired a worker for engaging in union activities, with the Board ordering that the worker be reinstated and receive backpay for lost earnings. While the exploits of…
Read MoreYesterday evening, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan commenced, to end on the evening of 12 May 2021. During Ramadan, practicing Muslims will abstain from food or drink, including water, from sunrise to sunset. This can pose some challenges for employers, from the prevalence of “lunch meetings” to work health and safety concerns. In this article, we will outline some means by which employers can manage their businesses to support those partaking in Ramadan and the wider workplace. Be flexible where possible Since the fasting period during Ramadan lasts from sunrise to sunset, the duration of the fast can…
Read MoreThe end of the Federal Government’s JobKeeper program on 28 March 2021 saw with it the end of several legislative provisions which provided employers with crucial flexibilities to respond to an ever-shifting business environment. As the Greater Brisbane area enters another lockdown, the pinch from this sudden loss is becoming more and more apparent. In this article we will explore what mechanisms continue to exist under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) for businesses to manage their pathway forward. Limitations on employer flexibility At the outset, it ought to be appreciated that many of the provisions which…
Read MoreYesterday, the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 was passed by both Houses of Parliament and will shortly enter into law. Yet despite strong support from businesses and equally strong opposition from unions, the final version of the Bill removes much of what appealed to either group with one notable exception. The previously included flexibilities for part-time employment, the criminalisation of ‘wage theft’ at a Federal level, the automatic termination of pre-Fair Work agreements and the ability for the Fair Work Commission to temporarily approve enterprise agreements that did not pass the better off overall…
Read MoreAs 2021 races by at an already alarming rate, NRA Legal takes this opportunity to remind members of several changes to the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (Retail Award) coming up in the first half of the year. Final change to casual evening penalty rates on 1 March 2021 Further the decision of the Fair Work Commission in October 2018, the penalty rates payable to casual employees after 6:00PM Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays, have been incrementally increasing over the last few years. Although changes to the Saturday penalty rate concluded on 1 March 2020, the evening penalty rate…
Read MoreGiven the extensive regulation that surrounds the minimum entitlements of employees in the Australian industrial relations system, it is still surprising how often businesses fall into the trap of “setting and forgetting” salaries for their staff. annualized salary Recent years have seen several major businesses dragged into the realm of scandal because salaries, however generous, failed to keep up with the entitlements attached to the work actually performed by their employees. Although salaries can be convenient, most notably among employees not regulated by a modern award or enterprise agreement, when applied to employees engaged under one of the aforementioned instruments…
Read MoreThe introduction of the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 into Federal Parliament late last year is likely to change the way that Boards of Directors respond to reports of non-compliance or ‘wage theft’. Because of their concurrent obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act), this cohort has been particularly at risk of regulatory action taken against them in a personal capacity. The introduction of this new legislation may close a perceived ‘safe harbour’ against criminal prosecution where a Director did not personally cause a contravention of occur. This article explores the duties…
Read More2020 may have been the year the world stood still, but life – and work – continued on for many, albeit changed forever. While laws to help governments respond to the pandemic came thick and fast, many workplace laws remained effectively untouched except for very particular areas, the most obvious changes being the amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) in support of the JobKeeper program and flexibility provisions in modern awards. However, some areas of law remain untouched for now, and applying these laws to the new paradigm will remain a challenge for businesses for some…
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