One of the features of the Model Work Health and Safety Act is the imposition of duties on persons who are in a position to control or influence safety in workplaces. The legislation contemplates that more than one person can have a work health and safety duty in relation to the same matter. One of the first convictions under this consultation provision was handed down in May. The case involved an employee who was injured, when the guttering he was handling came into contact with power lines. The employee had been placed in his position by an apprentice placement organisation, was being supervised by a self-employed roofer and was working at a site under the control of a construction company. All three of these defendants had their own separate duty to ensure the safety of the employee, as well as a duty to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate with each other about safety arrangements, which they failed to uphold. This decision has particular significance for training and placement organisations and host employers.
Australia: More than $330,000 in Damages Awarded to a former Senior Executive for Misleading and Deceptive Conduct
Traditionally, Australian Courts have been cautious about claims brought by employees alleging breach of statutory prohibitions against misleading and deceptive conduct in trade or commerce. The frequently occurring hurdle in such cases is that Court’s have not considered conduct, which occurs during the course of ongoing employment, to be “in trade and commerce”. The position, however, has been that misleading or deceptive conduct in pre-employment negotiations may support a statutory cause of action for misleading and deceptive conduct. Courts have taken a more limited view with respect to representations made to an existing employee with a view to retaining the services of that employee. The Federal Court of Australia recently ordered an insurance building company to pay its former senior insurance executive more than $330,000 in damages for misleading and deceptive conduct, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
Australia: Harmers Autumn 2016 Work InSights Publication
In this edition, we cast a spotlight on the practice of engaging interns. We explore recent cases and the nuances of the law relating to internships, work experience and vocational placements in Australia, and highlight the potential risks and penalties for employers. We then examine the topical issue of drugs and alcohol in the context […]
Australia: Court Ruling confirms Retrenchment Policy created Contractual Entitlements to Former Senior Employees
The New South Wales Court of Appeal in McKeith v Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC; Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) v James [2016] NSWCA 36 examined the following ways in which it was submitted that RBS’s retrenchment policy created contractual entitlements owed to two former senior employees (Messrs James and McKeith): Incorporation […]
Webcast: Separation Management & Termination Of Employment
The first Western Sydney Forum entitled “Separation Management & Termination of Employment” was held at the Pullman Hotel in Sydney Olympic Park on Thursday 28 April 2016. In this video presentation, Michael Harmer, Chairman, Harmers Workplace Lawyers, provides an overview of the industrial relations landscape leading up to the 2016 Federal election. Jenny Inness, Executive […]
Employment Law Across 27 Jurisdictions 2016
Employment Law Across 27 Jurisdictions 2016, an L&E Global and Clyde & Co joint publication, provides a brief outline of the employment law regime across 27 key jurisdictions throughout the globe.
Australia: Drugs, Alcohol and Unfair Dismissal
Alcohol and drug use can have a significant negative impact on workplace productivity, performance and reputation. In 2015, one study estimated that alcohol and drug use contributed to a loss of 2.5 million days annually due to absenteeism in Australia, at a cost of more than $680 million (Manning, M, C Smith and P Mazerolle, […]
L&E Global’s 2016 Global Handbook | Employment Litigation
For employers with operations in multiple jurisdictions, litigation over disputes related to employment matters is a very real and increasingly significant concern, which applies to every sector of industry, in every region of the world. This comprehensive publication includes contributions from 28 key jurisdictions across 5 continents and will be a valuable resource for all […]
Australia Football Club Violated Work Health and Safety Laws
There is legislation in each of the jurisdictions across Australia regulating the space of work health and safety, which, amongst other things, requires employers to, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain for employees a working environment that is safe and without risks to their health.?In November 2015, Worksafe Victoria (the entity tasked […]
Australia: Court awards more than $330,000 in Damages to Sexually Harassed Employee
On 23 December of 2015, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (“VCAT”) awarded more than $330,000 as compensation to Ms Collins, an employee who had been repeatedly sexually harassed by her employer, Mr Smith, the owner and manager of the Geelong West Licensed Post Office. This case, Collins v Smith (Human Rights) [2015] VCAT 1992 […]