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Getting It Right – Employee Leave Entitlements on entry, exit and during the course of employment Welcome to our ‘Getting It Right’ series. This is the first of our series of articles addressing employee leave and their entitlements upon commencing employment, during employment, resignation and termination. This week we are looking at annual leave and …

Don’t Discount Redeployment Options to a Junior Role When Making Employees Redundant The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“the Act”) provides guidelines and provisions on the process of dismissing an employee, and in what circumstances a dismissal may be consider unfair. Under the Act, an employer will be exempt from an unfair dismissal remedy if …

Recently, there have been a few articles in the national news covering the issue of employees who have been sacked via text message. As an employment law firm, we have also witnessed the use of email and other electronic means to terminate employees. In the recent text message case, Fair Work Australia (FWA) had to …

Fair Work Australia’s minimum wage panel released its 2011 Annual Minimum Wage Decision on Friday, 3 June 2011. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, the Minimum Wage Panel of Fair Work Australia must conduct an annual wage review in each financial year. The decision handed down by the Panel on Friday increases the national minimum …

The procedural fairness requirements of the Fair Work Act, 2009 (Act) together with the recent line of decisions of Fair Work Australia (FWA), impose on employers an obligation to act carefully and consistently when disciplining and managing employees. This article addresses some practical strategies for effective performance management in the workplace. Disciplining employees exposes an …

Andrew Bland talks about the recent high court decision on adverse action and the implications for unfair dismissal and parental leave.

As we get into 2011, we encourage employers to review and consider their obligations, employment terms and conditions, policies, procedures and practices to ensure an industrially successful 2011 ahead. We have highlighted some recent developments and upcoming matters for consideration in the workplace. To read the full article, click on the following; Looking Forward – …

A stated intention of the award modernisation process was not to result in a reduction of an employee’s take home pay. The Schedule 5 provisions of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act, 2009 (Transitional legislation) specifically empower Fair Work Australia to remedy any reductions in take-home pay. Read the full article here …

Constructive dismissal Constructive dismissal occurs when the conduct of an employer causes an employee to resign. The employer may expressly ask the employee to resign or the employer’s conduct may leave the employee feeling that there is no other choice but to resign. An employer may believe that resignation is mutual however if an employee …

Historic Legislation meets Senate approval. Paid Parental Leave Entitlements are here! Australia’s first national paid parental leave scheme has officially passed the vote of the Senate which from next year, will provide 18 weeks parental leave paid at the minimum wage. Read the full article here