Top tips for engaging casual employees over Christmas

Written by Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal According to recent analysis by global job search platform Indeed, 67%...

Written by Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal According to recent analysis by global job search platform Indeed, 67% of Christmas job opportunities in Australia are created in the retail sector to help serve the Christmas shopping frenzy. Last year, Australians spent in excess of $26 billion during the month...

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Changes to work arrangements – who’s to blame?

Written by Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a recent application for relief from unfair dismissal, Commissioner Cribb...

Written by Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a recent application for relief from unfair dismissal, Commissioner Cribb considered circumstances where an employee requested changes to her working arrangements, and then resigned her employment when the employer was unable to accommodate those changes. The employee argued that she was...

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Understanding uniform and laundry allowances

Understanding when to pay uniform and laundry allowances prescribed by modern awards is an issue that is commonly misunderstood...

Understanding when to pay uniform and laundry allowances prescribed by modern awards is an issue that is commonly misunderstood by employers. The misunderstanding often arises because employees can claim such allowances on their tax return. However, employers may be in breach of a Modern Award if applicable uniform and...

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Federal Court throws casual employment into a tailspin

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a decision handed down on 16 August 2018, the Full Court...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a decision handed down on 16 August 2018, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has thrown casual employment, and the efficacy of its use, into a tailspin. In a case which is likely to be appealed to the High...

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Compliance report reveals underpayments of more than $44,000

By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) released its findings on Degani Bakery...

By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) released its findings on Degani Bakery and Café (Degani) Compliance Activity (Activity) last week, finding non-compliance at 15 out of 16 Degani outlets operating under either a licensee or franchisee arrangement with Degani Australia Pty Ltd. Background The...

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What is the ‘gig economy’ and how does it affect me?

By Sooraj Sidhu, NRA Legal You might have heard in recent months the term ‘gig economy’ being thrown around by...

By Sooraj Sidhu, NRA Legal You might have heard in recent months the term ‘gig economy’ being thrown around by politicians, lawyers and leaders in workplace relations. The term, which has become buzzword of the century, refers to the burgeoning number of workers engaged in short-term or temporary positions, either through...

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Family and domestic violence leave introduced into modern awards

From 1 August 2018, modern awards were varied to include the family and domestic violence leave. This means that...

From 1 August 2018, modern awards were varied to include the family and domestic violence leave. This means that employees covered by a modern award are entitled to take five days’ unpaid leave if they are affected by family or domestic violence. The changes do not extend to employees covered...

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Fair Work Commission announces action plan to assist small business employers

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Yesterday, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) president Iain Ross responded to reports...

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Yesterday, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) president Iain Ross responded to reports commissioned last year, which urged the establishment of a ‘Small Business Division’ of the Fair Work Commission and the reduction of red tape associated with unfair dismissal and adverse action...

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Out-of-hours misconduct justified dismissal

By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled that a worker who...

By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled that a worker who threw a full glass of beer over the heads of his colleagues at an official company Christmas party was justifiably dismissed. This is a significant decision regarding the dismissal of...

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Legislative update: Modern slavery in supply chains

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal On 28 June 2018, the Commonwealth introduced the Modern Slavery Bill, which,...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal On 28 June 2018, the Commonwealth introduced the Modern Slavery Bill, which, if passed, will target the supply chains of large businesses in a bid to quash modern slavery in Australia. A week prior, on 21 June 2018, the New South Wales...

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Obscene Instagram post to co-worker justified dismissal

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The summary dismissal of a 47 year old employee at a major...

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The summary dismissal of a 47 year old employee at a major private hospital in Sydney has been upheld by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) after finding that he sent an Instagram post “of a sexual nature” to a young nurse outside...

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Domestic Violence Leave set to arrive on 1 August 2018

On Friday 6 June 2018 the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission, in a decision published that afternoon,...

On Friday 6 June 2018 the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission, in a decision published that afternoon, advised that it intended that Domestic Violence Leave would commence through the modern award system on 1 August 2018. Background This decision finalises a process which saw the Fair Work Commission reject...

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Full Bench hands down decision on loaded rates

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Last Thursday a five-member Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission, headed...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Last Thursday a five-member Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission, headed by Vice President Adam Hatcher, handed down its decision in the Loaded Rates in Agreements Case. This case considered eight (later reduced to five) enterprise agreements for which the Commission’s approval...

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Legislative update: What you need to know from 1 July 2018

Legislative update: What you need to know from 1 July 2018 By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Penalty rate...

Legislative update: What you need to know from 1 July 2018 By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Penalty rate cuts Following a Fair Work Commission decision handed down last year, Sunday penalty rates for employees covered by the General Retail Industry Award, the Fast Food Industry Award, the Hospitality Industry...

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Employee pays ex-employer’s costs after vexatious unfair dismissal claim

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In an unusual case before the Fair Work Commission, an employee has...

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In an unusual case before the Fair Work Commission, an employee has been ordered to pay indemnity costs after finding that she continued to press an unfair dismissal application that was “doomed to fail”. Ordinarily, parties to a claim before the Fair Work...

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Franchising Update: End of Financial Year 2017/18

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal As the financial year which saw the franchise model under close scrutiny,...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal As the financial year which saw the franchise model under close scrutiny, it is worth taking this opportunity to look back on the year that was and the matters which will follow us into the next. Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act...

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