This is currently the third decision in this area, since damaging action was introduced into the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) (IR Act) on 20 June 2022. These protections were based on some of the general protections found in Part 3-1 of the Fair Work Act 2009...
Legislative background The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 (Cth) (Amending Act) introduces the new ‘right to disconnect’ into the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). The right to disconnect provisions commence on 26 August 2024 but do...
The full Amending Act can be found here. ‘New’ Test for Characterising Employment Relationship One significant change, due to commence on 26 August 2024, is the addition of section 15AA to the FW Act. Section 15AA will provide a statutory test for determining whether...
In this matter, the part-time employee (Applicant) had submitted a formal Flexible Work Arrangement request to his employer, FedEx (Respondent), that he be allowed to work from home 100% of the time (four days per week). The request was based on the fact Mr Ridings...
On 12 June 2024, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (the Full Bench) made the first intractable bargaining workplace determination. In summary, section 269 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the FW Act) provides that a Full Bench must make in intractable bargaining...
The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (the Act), now obliges Australian employers and persons conducting a business to take “reasonable and proportionate measures” to eliminate, as far as is possible, the following behaviours: discrimination on the ground of sex in a work...
The recent decision of the Federal Court in the matter of Dorsch v HEAD Oceania Pty Ltd (penalty) [2024] FCA 484 has highlighted the importance of employers promptly paying employees their accrued entitlements on termination of employment. The Respondent employer was...
Details of the Enforceable Undertaking can be found here. Pro Ten Holdings Pty Ltd was the owner of a farm in Griffith NSW, where a worker employed by a contractor was fatally injured when he was struck and run over by a reversing telehandler operated by another...
WorkSafe has commenced the first prosecutions under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) (WHS Act), which came into effect in March 2022. Details of the prosecutions can be found here. The commencement of several prosecutions in April 2022 no doubt coincides with...
In addition to the ‘Secure Jobs, Better Pay’ and ‘Protecting Worker Entitlements’ legislation implemented in 2023, the ‘Closing Loopholes Act’ 2023 came into effect on 13 December 2023, aimed at better protecting the rights of employees. This was followed by the...