News

The return to work of an employee following maternity leave poses a challenge for employers- many of them seem unsure about their obligations and run the risk of falling foul of the Fair Work Act or anti-discrimination legislation.   What are employees entitled to? The fundamental entitlement of an employee returning to work after maternity …

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 …

During times of low unemployment, and critical shortages of workers in some industries, it is not uncommon for employers to find themselves in the situation where they are selling themselves and their business, to potential employees. Likewise for recruiters, who will work hard to secure the best candidates for their clients, and in doing so …

From 1 July 2011 the government will pay the Parental Leave benefit directly to employers, who will then be required to administer the payment to the employee. Employers need to ensure their pay systems are compliant and ready. For an updated fact sheet on the governemnt funded paid parental leave scheme please click to download Parental-Leave-Fact-Sheet.

 On 6 April 2011 the Victorian parliament introduced a Bill to amend the Crimes Act so that serious workplace bullying could result in a jail term of up to 10 years. The definition of what type of behaviour would be covered by the legislation includes “using abusive or offensive words” that could reasonably be expected …

Social Farming

Are you looking for sample social media guidelines for your organisation? We have developed, in conjunction with bluewiremedia and QudosClub, two sample social media guidelines that you can download and customise to your organisations requirements. 1. Social Media Guidelines – Moderate - Suitable for organisations wanting to take a more temperate approach to social media in …

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

Social Media & Unfair Dismissal – A Guide for Employers The recent decision by a full bench at Fair Work Australia in Dianna Smith T/A Escape Hair Design v Sally-Anne Fitzgerald [2011]FWAFB 1422 (15 March 2011) upholding an unfair dismissal finding is a timely reminder for employers to ensure they observe the correct procedures when …