Blogs

On 28 July 2022, the Albanese Government introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022 (Bill) into Parliament. Why? Because domestic violence is still causing far-reaching waves affecting the lives of millions of people. The issue – which by its definition happens at home – is intruding on workplaces. The most recent Personal Sa...

By Amanda Curatore Today, the Labor Government’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill (Bill) has passed Parliament. The Bill, which will become law upon being signed by the Governor General, is promoted by the Government to deliver Australian workers “a better deal and a better future.” The Bill introduces various amendments to the Fair Work Act (Cth) 2009 (FW Act) which are s...

Yesterday, the Government announced the passage of the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 (‘the Bill’) into Parliament. The Bill amends the Commonwealth workplace anti-discrimination and sexual harassment framework to implement a further seven recommendations from the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s Respect@Work: National ...

Failures to check the correct steps before terminating an employee have caused expensive legal bills and a mixed result for a Melbourne company, as well as serving as a reminder for the employer – while you may have a valid reason for dismissing an employee, caution must be taken so the dismissal isn’t found to be procedurally unfair. The reminder comes after the Fair Wor...

Yesterday, the Labor Government introduced legislation which is promoted to deliver more secure jobs, better pay and a fairer workplace relations system for Australian workers. This is the most significant proposed change to Australian industrial relations legislation for many years and will have direct implications for all workers and requires consideration on the part o...

Jane frequently calls in sick – averaging six days of sick leave a month. Each time she complies with the employer’s policy and provides a medical certificate. The medical certificate states Jane is “suffering from a medical condition” however provides no further detail. Jane’s absences are impacting the team as her work is reallocated to her team members, contributing to bu...

Did you know that mentally unhealthy workplaces cost Australia up to $39 billion each year in lost participation and productivity? The way our almost 13 million-strong labour force undertakes daily work has changed drastically in recent times. The sudden shift to remote working models put a significant focus on mental health at work. And while our physical health and safe...

Australia’s complex Work Health & Safety (WHS) laws can be overwhelming for any business to wrap their heads around, and in no industry is this more evident than in building and construction. In the construction game, highly complex systems of work and operations create unique and genuine hazards and risks to workers onsite every day.  For this reason, the threshold of wh...

Domestic violence is an ever-present and serious concern within Australian society. As individuals and parties become more empowered to speak up and gain support, it’s important we’re constantly assessing the way in which employers and our workplaces can play their part in supporting victims. In this article, we discuss what Family and Domestic Violence Leave (FDVL) is an...

The Fair Work Commission’s Minimum Wage Panel (FWC) handed down its decision on the annual wage review today. The decision provides an increase of 5.2 per cent to the National Minimum Wage, taking it to $21.28 per hour, effective from the first full pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2022. The increase to Modern Award minimum wages is $40 per week for classification...

Association for Talent Development Can businesses say with confidence that the decisions they make place people as their most valuable and important asset?  And can those same businesses say that they do everything they can to ensure their most important asset is kept healthy and safe? It’s definitely a balancing act.  A culture of safety at work is vital, and business...

The Coalition Government has recently announced that it will seek to criminalise non-compliant and unethical employer conduct. This has arisen in the wake of the recent George Calombaris underpayment scandal and can be seen as an extension of the Government’s general policy position towards the protection of vulnerable workers and further strengthening the audit and complian...

The Fair Work Commission’s Minimum Wage Panel (“Panel”) has today handed down its minimum wage decision which increased the National Minimum Wage, together with all Modern Award minimum rates of pay, by 3.0%. The Panel considered the current economic environment and reasoned that economic indicators now point to a healthy national economic environment, strong employment g...

Like most things in life, a systematic and structured approach to managing key responsibilities (albeit a little tedious at times) frees you up to focus on the stuff that keeps the blood pumping. Whether it’s the regular dental check-up, servicing the car or keeping records for your tax return, life’s that bit easier when you do the small stuff consistently. Unlike person...

In the recent decision from the Federal Court of Australia Lacson v Australian Postal Corporation [2018] FCCA 511, the Court has confirmed that if an employee has two clearly distinct jobs with one employer, overtime or other penalty rates under an enterprise agreement are calculated separately on each job, not cumulatively on all hours worked for the one employer. Mr Lac...

  People are fascinated by celebrities. Sports stars, film stars, rock stars and reality TV stars (that last one I really don't get). Perhaps it's a way for us to live vicariously and imagine what it would be like to be rich, to feel important, for people to know who we are instead of being one of the anonymous masses.  Our business, Strategy One HR, works in the indus...