The Bill was introduced on 24 June 2021, on the back of Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kat Jenkins’ world-leading national enquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces – colloquially known as the ‘Respect@Work Report’ (Report). The Report made 55...
Employment Law and Workplace Relations Blog
Mandatory Covid Vaccinations: Implications for Work Health and Safety
A failure to comply without a reasonable excuse is punishable by a fine of up to $20,000 for individuals, and $100,000 for bodies corporate. Following recent developments in New South Wales, aged care providers who contravene the Directions, may also be held liable...
What now? Casual employment following the High Court decision in Workpac Pty Ltd v Rossato and Ors
In an attempt to address the Skene and Rossato decisions, amendments were made to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act), effective 27 March 2021, to introduce a new definition of a “casual employee” and provide a mechanism for the conversion of casual employees to...
Record-keeping and reporting requirements for the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines
Whilst no directive from the WA Government has been published, the Federal Government has introduced legislation outlining the record-keeping and reporting requirements that apply both to the COVID-19 vaccine and the influenza vaccine, which are summarised below. Care...
COVID-19 vaccinations to be mandatory for all residential aged workers by September 2021
It is expected that this requirement will be introduced through WA’s existing mechanisms (i.e. State Emergency directions) with the support of the Commonwealth which oversees compliance in the aged care sector. However, no directive has yet been released by the WA...
Wage theft: Self-reporting and annualised salaries
Between March 2018 and March 2019, the FWO ran an investigation into the underpayments of a sample group of 70 Woolworths salaried managers. It was found the managers were underpaid $1,172,282 ranging from $289 to $85,905 per individual over the one-year time frame....
National minimum wages increase by 2.5%
In contrast to this time last year, there was a broad consensus that the current performance of the economy had exceeded expectations, with economic recovery well underway. In essence, the economy had recovered to a greater extent and more quickly than was...
Superannuation guarantee increases to 10% from 1 July 2021
Additionally, the annual concessional contribution cap increases from $25,000 to $27,500 as a result of indexation in line with changes to average weekly ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2021. The concessional contribution cap was last increased in 2017. Lastly, if...
A glimpse into the provisional changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Service Industry Award 2020
In this article, we provide a brief summary of the potential changes coming out of the 4-yearly review of the SCHADS Award, with a focus on a number of key proposals that may affect work practices in the future. Reform areas Due to the volume of substantive claims by...
The perils of insisting upon employees rendering exclusive service during the COVID-19 pandemic
On 30 March 2021, the Fair Work Commission (Commission) handed down the decision of Health Services Union v Huntingdon Nursing Home Pty Ltd [2021] FWC 1730 (Decision), which dealt with an attempt by New South Wales aged care provider, Huntingdon Nursing Home Pty Ltd...