IR Update: Employee prevented from serving notice period wins unfair dismissal case

A woman, who worked as an advertising sales representative, has won her unfair dismissal case due to her employer’s...

A woman, who worked as an advertising sales representative, has won her unfair dismissal case due to her employer’s misunderstanding of the employee’s intentions to work out her notice period. In July 2015, the employee was under significant stress from being overworked by her employer. According to her evidence, the...

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Digital growth roadshow coming to a South Australian regional centre near you!

The Digital Growth Program is delivered by the Polaris Centre and funded by the SA State Government Department for...

The Digital Growth Program is delivered by the Polaris Centre and funded by the SA State Government Department for State Development.  It involves several opportunities for businesses to learn and improve their digital footprint including: • Digital Start - a 1.5 hour FREE one on one advisory targeted at startup/new or...

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The total event for retail and payments sectors

FINALLY… there is an event that manages to bring all three events together to form Australia’s BIGGEST combined expo...

FINALLY… there is an event that manages to bring all three events together to form Australia’s BIGGEST combined expo for retail, ecommerce, payments and engagement. Clients have been crying out for ONE (total) event. Now we’ve got the recipe right! Total Retail & Payments EXPO 2016 11 & 12 May 2016 MCEC, Melbourne The...

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Revised training packages update

The National Retail Association (NRA) has been selected as the industry intelligence provider for the Queensland Government through the VET...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has been selected as the industry intelligence provider for the Queensland Government through the VET Industry Engagement Program. This position gives us the platform to advocate and recommend the reforms our members believe are needed for the retail sector around skills, training and workforce development. You...

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Big Insight #2 – Big Data, Micro-Insights

Insights and data provide information vital to understanding consumer behaviour and make up a critical part of successful business. The...

Insights and data provide information vital to understanding consumer behaviour and make up a critical part of successful business. The Hershey Company President, Michele Buck spoke at the NRF Big Show outlining how changes made as a result of consumer insights are driving significant growth, noting that partnerships and sharing...

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Extending unfair contract term protections to small businesses

A new law recently passed by the Federal Government will protect small businesses from unfair contact terms in standard...

A new law recently passed by the Federal Government will protect small businesses from unfair contact terms in standard form contracts. The new law will come into force on 12 November 2016 following a 12 month transition period. A small business is defined as employing less than 20 people, including...

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Message from the CEO: 29 January 2016

Federal Parliament resumes next week, with the Government and Opposition both looking to finalise their pitches to voters ahead...

Federal Parliament resumes next week, with the Government and Opposition both looking to finalise their pitches to voters ahead of the election due later this year. To coincide with the resumption of Parliament, a delegation from the NRA will be in Canberra for meetings with the Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull,...

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Amendments to Work Health and Safety Act 2011 get green light from Queensland Government

As part of its commitment to improving safety for Queenslanders at work, the Palaszcuk Government has passed a new...

As part of its commitment to improving safety for Queenslanders at work, the Palaszcuk Government has passed a new Bill, which introduces a number of changes to the State’s work health and safety (WHS) laws. The WHS Bill aims to restore elements of the original Work Health and Safety Act...

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The Total Event for Retail & Payments Sectors

FINALLY… there is an event that manages to bring all three events together to form Australia’s BIGGEST combined expo...

FINALLY… there is an event that manages to bring all three events together to form Australia’s BIGGEST combined expo for retail, ecommerce, payments and engagement. Clients have been crying out for ONE (total) event. Now we’ve got the recipe right! The National Retail Association is proud to support the: Total Retail &...

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Fire safety workshops for Queensland small businesses

The Office of Industrial Relations, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland are running free workshops to cover a range of...

The Office of Industrial Relations, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland are running free workshops to cover a range of work health and safety topics, including: • Basic safety management system • Risk management • Safe work procedures • Safe work method statements (for high risk construction work) • Basic risk management for manual tasks • Incident and emergency response • Hazardous chemicals • Health and...

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Distress and humiliation suffered after adverse action

The Federal Circuit Court has found The Monitoring Centre (TMC) took adverse action against their general manager who had...

The Federal Circuit Court has found The Monitoring Centre (TMC) took adverse action against their general manager who had made a workplace complaint when the company asked employees to provide negative feedback about the general manager and ultimately used this feedback to terminate her. The former employee made a formal...

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$1.3million in damages ordered to be paid for bullying and harassment

Safe Work Australia has published the Second Annual National Statement which identifies emerging trends in psychosocial health, safety and...

Safe Work Australia has published the Second Annual National Statement which identifies emerging trends in psychosocial health, safety and bullying in Australian workplaces. The data in the statement is based on data from accepted worker’s compensation claims involving mental stress. The statement highlights some interesting workplace trends: • the median direct cost of...

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Health assessment appeal overruled

The recent case of Hail Creek Coal Pty Ltd v Haylett & Anor QCA 259 (4 December 2015)...

The recent case of Hail Creek Coal Pty Ltd v Haylett & Anor QCA 259 (4 December 2015) has provided guidance on the limitations of an employer seeking health information from an employee. The employee began as a Drill Rig Operator at the Hail Creek Mine and in 2010...

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Scholarship funding available to female leaders in the VET sector

Scholarship funding available to female leaders in the VET sector The National Excellence in Educational Leadership Initiative (NEELI) recently announced...

Scholarship funding available to female leaders in the VET sector The National Excellence in Educational Leadership Initiative (NEELI) recently announced that $3,500 scholarships are now available to women in the Vocational Education & Training sector to assist them to participate in the Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) Created to provide tailored development...

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IR Update: Fair Work Commission unable to hear anti-bullying claims from volunteers

In a recent decision before the Fair Work Commission, it has been held that volunteers are unable to make...

In a recent decision before the Fair Work Commission, it has been held that volunteers are unable to make anti-bullying claims against their employers, as they do not satisfy the definition of “worker” under s 789FC of the Fair Work Act 2010 (Cth). In the facts of this case, a...

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Beware of misleading ‘drip pricing’ practices

‘Drip pricing’ is a practice used by some retailers during online purchasing, where a headline price is advertised up-front,...

‘Drip pricing’ is a practice used by some retailers during online purchasing, where a headline price is advertised up-front, but other fees and charges are added throughout the purchasing process. Often the extra fees and charges are unavoidable or are applied in most transactions, making it difficult for consumers...

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