Introducing our new lawyer for NRA Legal

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our membership to our new lawyer on the NRA Legal...

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our membership to our new lawyer on the NRA Legal team, Emma Treherne. Emma brings over 10 years' experience in workplace relations and human resources management experience to the National Retail Association. Emma has previously worked for Australian Industry Group, a leading employer association,...

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Things you need to know when employing young workers this Christmas

With consumers gearing up to spend big over the Christmas period and summer holidays, retailers are busy preparing themselves...

With consumers gearing up to spend big over the Christmas period and summer holidays, retailers are busy preparing themselves and employing young workers to assist over the coming weeks. But are you aware of the laws around young workers? It is certainly not the case that you can pay your...

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New labour hire laws – what you need to know

Following a number of high-profile media reports about exploitation of vulnerable workers, numerous laws have been made or proposed...

Following a number of high-profile media reports about exploitation of vulnerable workers, numerous laws have been made or proposed to address the issue. In the Federal Parliament, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017 was passed which imposed higher penalties on serious breaches of the Fair Work Act...

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NRA Legal: Work Health and Safety Workshops

Employers have a duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their staff. This translates to a...

Employers have a duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their staff. This translates to a need to provide a sufficient system for managing health and safety hazards and risks in the workplace. One way of ensuring compliance with your duty of care is to implement...

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The crackdown on retailers and restaurants has begun

Retailers and restaurants targeted for underpayments and false records with massive fines Written by Sid Sidhu and Justine Ansell, NRA...

Retailers and restaurants targeted for underpayments and false records with massive fines Written by Sid Sidhu and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal The crackdown on retailers, fast food stores and restaurants avoiding their obligations has well and truly begun. As predicted, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has increased its auditing activity and...

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“Loaded rates” of pay scrutinised

Fair Work Commission to scrutinise “loaded rates” of pay within Enterprise Agreements By Sid Sidhu, NRA Legal Following the recent win...

Fair Work Commission to scrutinise “loaded rates” of pay within Enterprise Agreements By Sid Sidhu, NRA Legal Following the recent win for retailers and the Federal Court’s decision to uphold the penalty rate cuts across five Modern Awards, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has invited peak union...

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Franchise Privacy

FRANCHISORS – CAN YOU ACCESS YOUR FRANCHISEE’S EMPLOYMENT RECORDS TO CONDUCT FAIR WORK COMPLIANCE AUDITS? With the recent amendments to...

FRANCHISORS – CAN YOU ACCESS YOUR FRANCHISEE’S EMPLOYMENT RECORDS TO CONDUCT FAIR WORK COMPLIANCE AUDITS? With the recent amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) to protect vulnerable workers, many franchisors are considering what they can do to protect themselves from liability for contraventions to the Fair Work Act...

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Health and Safety Opportunities in NSW

Focus on mental health With mental health being a growing issue in society at large and our workplaces in particular,...

Focus on mental health With mental health being a growing issue in society at large and our workplaces in particular, it is unfortunate that it is often overlooked by employers when thinking about workplace health and safety. To a degree this is something of a natural response; we like to be...

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Union challenge to penalty rates quashed

Retailers praise Federal Court for preserving independent umpire’s integrity, after union challenge to penalty rates quashed The National Retail Association...

Retailers praise Federal Court for preserving independent umpire’s integrity, after union challenge to penalty rates quashed The National Retail Association (NRA) has this morning praised the Federal Court for rejecting the unions’ attempts to have the penalty rates ruling of the independent umpire, the Fair Work Commission (FWC), overruled. The Court...

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Penalised for the best of intentions

Protect yourself from costly mistakes by getting professional advice By Alex Millman and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal A mistake in handling...

Protect yourself from costly mistakes by getting professional advice By Alex Millman and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal A mistake in handling an employee’s redundancy around the same time as the commencement of her maternity leave has cost an employer $57,842.99 in compensation and penalties. The court found that had the manager consulted...

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Is your business keeping accurate records?

If you don’t, it will become a very expensive exercise… Written by Sid Sidhu and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal Record keeping...

If you don’t, it will become a very expensive exercise… Written by Sid Sidhu and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal Record keeping can be a time consuming and tedious task for most businesses, especially those without a dedicated payroll team. However, members must be vigilant in this space given the strict legal...

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NRA are standing up for retail and fast food in the Penalty Rates Case

By Alex Millman and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal The union challenge to the Fair Work Commission’s decision to cut penalty...

By Alex Millman and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal The union challenge to the Fair Work Commission’s decision to cut penalty rates in the retail, fast food and hospitality sectors wrapped up yesterday, with the Federal Court reserving its decision to be handed down at a later date. With five judges, approximately...

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Can I sack somebody for their religious or political views?

By Sid Sidhu and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal Over the past few days, news surrounding the same-sex marriage (SSM) plebiscite...

By Sid Sidhu and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal Over the past few days, news surrounding the same-sex marriage (SSM) plebiscite has dominated Australian media. Most recently, we have heard the story of 18-year-old Madeline, who was fired after posting her views on SSM to her Facebook profile. Although the sacked...

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Vulnerable Workers Bill amendments: what you need to know

On Tuesday 5 September 2017, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 was passed with amendments by...

On Tuesday 5 September 2017, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 was passed with amendments by both houses of Parliament. The Bill was given Royal Assent by the Governor-General on 14 September 2017, becoming an Act (the VW Act) which will re-write parts of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW...

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Redundancy and redeployment

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Readers may recall our previous article in which we discussed the requirement...

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Readers may recall our previous article in which we discussed the requirement on employers to consult with their employees when undertaking a business restructure (see article here). In that article we identified that of the three matters that make up a ‘genuine redundancy’...

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FWC rejects SDA application for blood donor leave

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal In mid-July this year, the Fair Work Commission heard an application by...

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal In mid-July this year, the Fair Work Commission heard an application by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association to include provision for paid blood donor leave in the retail, fast food, and hair and beauty awards. NRA, along with other industry groups,...

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