Topics: Workplace relations and safety

In the decision in Ben Starkey v Cootes Transport Group Pty Ltd [2011] FWA 228, Fair Work Australia dismissed an employee’s unfair dismissal application. The employee had been dismissed for serious misconduct when he was observed using a mobile phone while driving the employer’s fuel tanker.

An employee was recently awarded $74,000 in damages (reduced by an ex gratia payment the employer made to the employee on appeal) because the employer failed to set objectives and review the employee’s performance.

The introduction of the Passenger Vehicle Transport Award 2010 (Award) on 1 January 2010 reignited the debate as to the interpretation of the minimum “engagement” for casual employees in the bus industry.

This recent decision illustrates that the courts will protect sensitive pricing information and models associated with insurance product pricing. Australian Insurance Holdings Pty Ltd (AIH) successfully sought an interlocutory injunction preventing an ex-employee from working for a competitor in certain defined roles.

It has become commonplace for insurance broking firms to insert “restraint of trade” provisions into employment contracts in an attempt to prevent ex-employees taking “their book” with them to a new employer. A recent New South Wales Supreme Court decision provides useful guidance on the courts’ approach to such clauses.

The Paid Parental Leave Bill was passed into law on 17 June 2010 and provides a new paid parental leave scheme for Australian workers. From 1 January 2011 the scheme provides the primary carer of a new-born child (or adopted child) leave for up to 18 weeks at the national

The unfair dismissal provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 have been operating since 1 July 2009. One major change involved the widening of employee eligibility to make an unfair dismissal application. In contrast, the timeframe for making an unfair dismissal application was reduced from 21 to 14 days after

The Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal recently rejected an interlocutory application by an employer to dismiss a complaint where the employee had signed a deed of release that included a clause releasing the employer from any future claims.

The changes to the Fair Work Act on 1 January 2010 will not only affect businesses currently operating under the Fair Work Act, but will also affect private sector employers currently operating in the State industrial relations jurisdiction of Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, and Tasmania.

The New South Wales Supreme Court has awarded financial broking company, Tullett Prebon (Australia) Pty Ltd, more than $500,000 damages after a finding that its former employee had breached their employment contract.