Employment Law Blog & News
Changes to long service leave for the community services sector in Victoria
Changes to legislation in Victoria is extending the application of the portable long service scheme in the community services sector. What is "portable long service leave"? A number of States and Territories have legislation that provides for "portable long...
Minimum Wage to Increase in 73 Awards on 1 November
The minimum wage is set to increase by 1.75% on the first full pay period after 1 November 2020 in 73 modern awards, including those in the construction and manufacturing industries. Unlike in most years where the minimum wage in all modern award increases on 1 July,...
Wage Theft is now a crime in Queensland
In 2018 the Queensland Parliament's report "A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work? Exposing the true cost of wage theft in Queensland", found that over 437,000 Queensland workers were affected by wage theft, amounting to approximately $1.22 billion in annual lost...
How to determine the scope of a workplace investigation
Workplace investigations are an important aspect of successfully dealing with employee complaints or in determining whether or not misconduct has occurred. Once it has been decided that a matter will be investigated, it is important to determine the precise scope of a...
FWO uncovers compliance issues in franchise chain
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has wide-ranging powers to attend businesses unannounced to check compliance (and identify compliance issues) with workplace laws. Sometimes the FWO conducts random inspections, other times it visits premises as a result of complaints or...
13 key steps of a successful workplace investigation
As with many things, the secret to a successful workplace investigation is planning. Preparing an investigation plan which centres around the below key steps will allow you to work methodically through each stage and produce a reliable result. 13 steps of a...
When is a formal workplace investigation required?
As discussed in our previous blog, 5 reasons to outsource your workplace investigation, even when an investigation is conducted well, the process has the potential to negatively impact the parties involved. Therefore, when an issue arises, it is important you...
Paid pandemic leave introduced for aged care workers: What about everyone else?
On 27 July 2020, the Fair Work Commission issued a decision ([2020] FWCFB 3940) granting an entitlement to paid pandemic leave for employees working in the aged care industry who are covered by the following awards: Aged Care Award 2010 [MA000018]; Health...
5 Reasons To Outsource Your Workplace Investigation
Has an incident occurred within your workplace that needs to be investigated? Below are 5 reasons why you should consider outsourcing your workplace investigation. 1. Independence and impartiality in a Workplace Investigation One of the key principles of a...
True Crime: Victoria Passes Wage Theft Bill
On 16 June 2020, the Victorian Parliament passed the Wage Theft Bill 2020. For the first time, this means that there will be criminal penalties, including jail time for employers, when they underpay their staff. It is anticipated that the Bill will come into effect on...
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