by Simon Obee | Aug 17, 2021 | Employment Law, Fair Work Act, Fair Work Commission
Last week, the Fair Work Ombudsman updated its guidance on COVID vaccinations in the workplace, including the question of whether employers can make vaccinations mandatory. The guidance includes both the following phrases: “While the Australian Government’s policy is... 
by Jenny Park | May 12, 2021 | Casual employees, Fair Work Act, Fair Work Commission, Redundancy
Significant changes concerning casual employment were recently introduced to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) as part of the Federal Government’s plan to assist with the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. The amendments were introduced under the Fair Work Amendment... 
by Jenny Park | Apr 14, 2021 | Employment Law, Fair Work Act, Workplace Investigations
Workplace sexual harassment has recently been in the spotlight due to allegations against the former Attorney General, Christian Porter and other officials. The Government has faced increased pressure to review workplace sexual harassment laws, which some consider to... 
by Simon Obee | Mar 31, 2021 | Employment Law, Fair Work Act, Modern awards
The JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme ended at midnight on 28 March 2021. For employers who were receiving the subsidy this has a number of important consequences, some obvious, some less so: Employers must now pay employees’ wages without the assistance of the... 
by Simon Obee | Mar 16, 2021 | Fair Work Act, Modern awards, Redundancy
As an employment lawyer, I am often called upon to do presentations on “crazy clauses in modern awards”. Modern awards are, of course, a set of regulations based on the industry and/or occupation of the employee that dictate rights and obligations in the... 
by Simon Obee | Feb 18, 2021 | Employment Law, Fair Work Act, Modern awards
Last March new provisions were introduced into several modern awards dealing with “annualised wages” or “annualised salaries”. As we pointed out at the time, these new provisions contained an optional mechanism for an employer to pay a...