The recent decision of Fair Work Ombudsman v Centennial Financial Services [2011] FMCA 459 has highlighted that human resource managers can be held responsible for sham contracting practices, even if they are following the instructions of senior management.
Fair Work Australia’s minimum wage panel has announced a 3.4% increase in minimum wages effective from 1 July 2011.
A private member’s bill put before the House of Representatives seeks to abolish the current age limits governing the payment of superannuation by employers in Australia.
Industrial Union United Voice is set to challenge the rollout of a series of Individual Flexibility Agreements (IFAs) by Spotless Group to cleaners in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales in the Federal Court, claiming breaches of the Fair Work Act 2009.
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.
Fair Work Australia dismissed a truck driver’s unfair dismissal claim after finding that termination of his employment for falsifying his fatigue management records was not unfair.
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 minimum wage of $570 (gross) per week.
The Queensland Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 has been amended by the Heavy Vehicle Speed Compliance Act with the insertion of a new Chapter 5D in the Act. The new provisions are effective from 1 July 2010 and adopt national reforms in this area, which have been developed after extensive consultation with various transport industry stakeholders.