“No refunds” unlawful

Christmas & Australian Consumer Law Obligations As consumers start their Christmas shopping early, the National Retail Association are reminding retail...

Christmas & Australian Consumer Law Obligations As consumers start their Christmas shopping early, the National Retail Association are reminding retail businesses to revise and align their exchange, return and refund policies to meet the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission standards. The ACCC Commissioner, Sarah Court, reported that many clothing retailers have...

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Are You Ready for Business Christmas Functions?

With the festive season rapidly approaching, businesses are gearing up for Christmas work functions, but as we all know...

With the festive season rapidly approaching, businesses are gearing up for Christmas work functions, but as we all know alcohol and employment don’t necessary pair well. When things get ‘out of hand’ at a Christmas party the ‘hangover’ for employers can last well beyond the morning after. We all know...

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The Legalities of Workplace Liability

The Fair Work Ombudsman has warned employers and those in management positions to be careful of their actions when...

The Fair Work Ombudsman has warned employers and those in management positions to be careful of their actions when it comes to workplace liability.  Accessorial liability provisions contained in the Fair Work Act now make it possible that with body corporate employers, proceedings may be brought not only against...

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Newsflash – Get Your Offset Clause Health Check Now!

In a recent ruling, a Magistrate allowed an employee to pursue unpaid overtime and lunch break claims totalling $29,000...

In a recent ruling, a Magistrate allowed an employee to pursue unpaid overtime and lunch break claims totalling $29,000 as the employment contract failed to properly specify provisions it purported to oust in her annualised salary. Next Residential Pty Ltd, a Perth building company, denied an employee had been directed...

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Employer’s Options in Natural Disasters

The thoughts of the NRA team are with all those members affected by recent severe weather that has impacted...

The thoughts of the NRA team are with all those members affected by recent severe weather that has impacted South Australia and parts of Victoria this week, and has forced many shops to shut down temporarily. Unfortunately, this type of weather is not uncommon in Australia leading up to summer....

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Trading hours win for Regional Queensland retailers

IMAGE The National Retail Association has succeeded in its application for a one-off exemption for major stores in regional Queensland...

IMAGE The National Retail Association has succeeded in its application for a one-off exemption for major stores in regional Queensland to trade on the Boxing Day public holiday this year. In a judgement released today, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission ordered that stores may trade between 8am and 5pm on the...

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Discrimination still a major player in organisations

Australia Post was ordered to pay $40,000 in compensation for a colleague racially discriminating against a worker. However, claims...

Australia Post was ordered to pay $40,000 in compensation for a colleague racially discriminating against a worker. However, claims for aggravated damages and exemplary damages were rejected. A postal delivery driver for Australia Post was subjected to racial teasing by being called “a black bastard”, a “f@#*ing black bastard” and...

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Jobs, choice and a 21st century world view

Initial submission to the Qld Government’s Review of Trading Hours 1.0    About the Submitter The National Retail Association (NRA) is a...

Initial submission to the Qld Government’s Review of Trading Hours 1.0    About the Submitter The National Retail Association (NRA) is a not-for-profit industry organisation providing professional services and critical information and advice to the retail, fast food and broader service industry throughout Australia. The Queensland-based NRA is Australia’s largest and most...

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NRA welcomes Troy Wild to the team

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Troy Wild to the National Retail Association as Director, Legal Division,...

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Troy Wild to the National Retail Association as Director, Legal Division, and Principal of our in-house law firm, NRA Legal. Troy joins us with an extensive background in industrial relations and employment law, as well as 13 years’ experience gained as a...

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Take the lead in addressing domestic violence in your workplace

A recent study conducted in Canada has identified that one in three workers had experienced domestic violence (DV) at...

A recent study conducted in Canada has identified that one in three workers had experienced domestic violence (DV) at some point in their life. Despite these statistics there was minimal evidence found of employers understanding and taking action to assist victims of DV. The purpose of the study was to...

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Time to reform retail trading hours

There is no greater obstacle to job creation in the retail industry than being forbidden from opening your doors...

There is no greater obstacle to job creation in the retail industry than being forbidden from opening your doors to trade due to government regulation. It remains the case that many states across Australia maintain complex and excessive layers of regulation concerning retail trading hours. The different legislation requirements for...

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Unfair Domestic Violence Dismissal – Courts reject employer’s appeal

In a recent application for judicial review, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissed Eliana Construction and Developing Group...

In a recent application for judicial review, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissed Eliana Construction and Developing Group Pty Ltd.’s application stating that they had no basis for unfairly dismissing an employee who had suffered domestic violence by her partner, who was also employed at the same company. The...

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UPDATED NEWSFLASH: State Wage Case: Increase For P&Cs, and Before and After School Care Workers

Please note, further to our communication last week, that an error has been identified with calculations relating to the...

Please note, further to our communication last week, that an error has been identified with calculations relating to the 2.4% wage rate increase for the Children’s Services Award, effective 1 September 2016. This error has been rectified and a new wage rate summary can be accessed by logging into our...

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NRA welcomes new lawyer

We are pleased to welcome our new senior lawyer, Angela Szczepanski to the National Retail Association Legal Team. Angela joins...

We are pleased to welcome our new senior lawyer, Angela Szczepanski to the National Retail Association Legal Team. Angela joins the team with over 13 years’ experience in industrial relations and has worked for a number of employer associations, private enterprises as in house counsel and for the Queensland State...

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Modern Award Review: casual conversion could lead to “double dipping”

Leading up to the closure of the casual conversation case in the 4 yearly Modern Award Review, a submission...

Leading up to the closure of the casual conversation case in the 4 yearly Modern Award Review, a submission has been made to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that if casuals are converted to part-time employees after 12 months, and if their service as a casual is counted towards...

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6 Month Restraint of Trade “Reasonable”

In a recent case brought before the NSW Supreme Court DP World’s (DPW) six-month restraint of trade period on...

In a recent case brought before the NSW Supreme Court DP World’s (DPW) six-month restraint of trade period on their Operations Manager was deemed to be reasonable when the former employee gave three-months’ notice before beginning employment with a competitor. On April 27, DPW’s Operations Manager accepted a position with...

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