A typical employment contract can contain items that seem harmless until you look a little closer. If you're not careful you can quickly find yourself in hot water. Here are answers to some common questions to help you better understand what you are signing up for....
Workplace investigations are formal processes by which employers investigate allegations of serious misconduct by their employees. Typically, they are started because of another employee or a client has made a complaint. They involve an investigator, who is often but...
Lawyers cannot help parties to prepare evidence and oral submissions in hearings without permission from the Fair Work Commission. Do you know how to successfully represent yourself in the Fair Work Commission? Help From Lawyers in the Fair Work Commission In...
What is bullying? Workplace bullying is persistent unreasonable behaviour towards a worker or group of workers that causes a risk to health and safety. That is, it must: Be persistent, in the sense that it happens repeatedly over a period of time. Be unreasonable, in...
Employers and human resources managers who comply with their record keeping and payment obligations can significantly reduce the risk of suffering crippling fines due to underpayment contraventions. In Fair Work Ombudsman v NSH North Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 1301, a...
The Federal Court confirms that workers will not be seen as contractors unless they “work as entrepreneurs owning and operating a separate business”. How do your contracting arrangements measure up or do you deal with sham contractors? Entrepreneurs or Employees? Most...
So, your employment has come to an end and you notice a tricky clause headed ‘Restraint of Trade/Non-Compete’ in your employment contract. Whether you’ve resigned, were dismissed or were made redundant, you want to move on as soon as possible and secure your next...
Window safety requirements are considered highly important for Owners Corporations. New amendments under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (sections 118, 129) and the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 (clauses 30, 31) came into force in late 2013. Here...
A recent Fair Work Commission decision involving an unfair dismissal application highlighted the importance of a company having a Code of Conduct and an IT policy. Senior Deputy President Hamberger determined that an employer was justified in dismissing a long serving...
Workplace privacy can diminish while there is an increasing number of phones, watches, laptops, vehicles and other technology provided to staff. Many of which have the capacity to track an individual’s location or usage of the technology. This raises many issues. Can...
This is a guide for employers who want to protect their intellectual property and confidential information by enforcing the restraint clauses in their employees’ contracts. 1. Get legal advice. This may be obvious, however what I mean is get legal advice on the...
In order to protect your reputation in today’s world of technology and social media, it is important to create a culture within your organisation that encourages employees to raise their grievances in-house without fear of reprimand and without reverting to social...
So, your company is engaging unpaid interns. If you’ve read our previous article, Unpaid Internships: Guidance for Employers, you would understand that it is lawful to do so. As the company won’t be paying these interns, there’s no need to have a written agreement in...
Developers, real estate agents and existing shareholders frequently market company title shares to the public. These marketing activities need to bring into account Part 6D.2 of the Corporations Act 2001, and the Australian Financial Services Licensing provisions....
There are good ways and bad ways to say no to a pay rise request. Of course, employees are going to be disappointed at having a pay rise request turned down. Performance reviews and pay rises are an excellent way to drive career progression and retain your key people....
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