The Federal Court of Australia has upheld an appeal from the Industrial Magistrates Court of Western Australia, finding that an employer had failed to disprove underpayment allegations made by a pair of former visa workers that it had employed
Sep
28
2019
Australia: The Full Federal Court holds that “day” in 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave to be given “working day” construction
The majority of the Full Federal Court of Australia has held for the purposes of section 96(1) of the Fair Work Act (Cth), that a “day” of paid personal/carers leave refers to a day of ordinary hours worked and not a notional day of 7.6 hours
Aug
27
2019
Australia: Fair Work Commission reduces compensation amount to zero for unfairly dismissed solicitor where misconduct was discovered after the termination
The Fair Work Commission has reduced to zero the compensation payable to a solicitor, found to have been unfairly dismissed from a criminal law firm, following revelations that the solicitor had misused the firm’s confidential information during and subsequent to his employment
Jul
27
2019
Australia: Full Bench quashes ruling that CCTV footage of employee’s serious misconduct was inadmissible
The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has quashed a Commissioner’s ruling that an employer’s installation of CCTV devices failed to comply with the Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW) and that the CCTV footage it had obtained had been illegally or improperly obtained. The Full Bench held that the recording was authorised by the Act and the evidence so obtained should not have been automatically excluded
Jun
25
2019
Australia: Important Reforms To The Law Governing “Whistleblowers”
Corporations—particularly public companies and large proprietary companies—will need to be aware of recent amendments to the corporations (and taxation) legislation that give greater protection to “whistleblowers” (those that make disclosure of corporate wrongdoing and breaches of the taxation laws). These changes impose additional duties on corporations to have mechanisms in place to deal with such disclosures. The legislation (Treasury Laws (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2018) received Royal Assent in March this year, but the provisions affecting the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) will take effect on 1 July 2019. Importantly, as noted below, there are obligations to have an appropriate policy dealing with whistleblowing in place before 1 January 2020. Because liability for breaches of the amendments can run before 2020, it is recommended that companies covered by the legislative amendments act as soon as possible to implement a policy and ensure compliance with the legislation
Jun
25
2019
Australia: Bakery franchise ordered to pay $249,000 to a temporary visa worker for underpayment and “cashback payment” arrangement
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered that an employer and its two managing directors pay a former employee, who had been working on a temporary visa, a total of $249,000 in compensation and pecuniary penalties, for contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)
May
29
2019
Australia: New licensing arrangements for labour-hire providers
On April 29, 2019, the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (“the Act”) came into effect. From this date onwards, labour-hire providers will have a six-month transition period to apply for a licence under the Act’s Labour Hire Licensing Scheme (“Scheme”). From October 30, 2019 onwards, substantial penalties will apply to labour hire providers who do not have a licence or a licence application pending and to businesses that use unlicensed providers
May
29
2019
Australia: “Unlawful” and “unreasonable” to direct employee to submit to fingerprint scanner: Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission
The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled that a casual general factory hand employed by a sawmill operator had been unfairly dismissed, finding that the sawmill operator had unlawfully and unreasonably directed the factory hand to consent to submit to fingerprint scanning, which would have monitored and tracked his attendance at the worksite
Apr
27
2019
Australia: Federal Court of Australia Dismisses Lawyer’s Disability Discrimination Claim Against Former Legal Practice
The Federal Court of Australia has dismissed a lawyer’s claims for disability discrimination and victimisation against his employer, a small specialist family law legal practice, finding that the legal practice had afforded the lawyer “reasonable adjustments” when he returned to work after a period of absence following a major depressive episode
Apr
03
2019
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX CHALLENGES
Even in the era of far-reaching international trade agreements and regional economic and political partnerships, the majority of laws and regulations governing the workplace are still determined by the individual countries where employees work.
Spanning 6 continents, L&E Global’s member firms are ideally situated to provide clients with pragmatic, commercial advice necessary to achieve their objectives. Our members work closely with corporate, legal, human resources departments and corporate executives across a variety of sectors and industries to address the strategic and tactical issues that arise in the workplace.
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