Latest publications
Equity Crowd Source Funding Part 2: Regulatory Update
Australia’s equity crowd source funding régime (CSF Régime) came into effect in Australia on 29 September 2017. The relevant provisions now sit within Part 6D.3A of the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act) and of the Corporations Regulations (2001) (the Regulations). The CSF Régime offers an opportunity for start-ups and small…
What’s in a Name? Job Titles and Modern Award Coverage
The Name Game Amusing articles appear on a regular basis about the renaming of particular occupations in an effort to make them seem more grand or important than they have been traditionally regarded. Some examples that have been cited include renaming “Bar Attendant” to “Beverage Dissemination Officer”, “Labourer” to “Mortar Logistics Engineer”, “Garbage…
Car allowance decision drives unfair dismissal access
In the recent decision of Sam Technology Engineers Pty Ltd v Mr Andrew Bernadou [2018] FWCFB 1767 the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) considered (as part of an appeal) the issue of how to treat car allowances for the purpose of determining the annual rate of earnings for…
The top five mistakes employers make when terminating employment: No.5 Alternatives to Dismissal
So you’ve got a valid reason to dismiss an employee, right? (Established misconduct, poor performance, etc). And you’ve made sure you’ve afforded the employee procedural fairness? (You’ve held a disciplinary meeting where the employee has had a chance to address the allegations against then accompanied by a support person). You’ve been careful to make it clear…
The top five mistakes employers make when terminating employment: No. 4 Unfair dismissal
A frequent mistake employers make when dealing with dismissal, is failing to afford employees “procedural fairness”. The unfair dismissal provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 operate so that as well as an employer having to have a valid reason to terminate employment (misconduct, poor performance, etc), they must also (generally)…
Resignation from employment — can you withdraw it?
Introduction Employers will from time to time be faced with the situation where an employee hastily submits a resignation in the “heat of the moment”. Then within a day or so of submitting their resignation, they seek to withdraw it. Can the employer, simply refuse to allow the employee to withdraw the…
Facing an Investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman — What is at stake?
It is not uncommon for employers to face investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman (“FWO”) where for example, a disgruntled employee has complained to the FWO about a workplace issue such as a failure to pay adequate wages or to meet award requirements. Experience suggests that the reaction of employers to the FWO’s…
Outer limit/maximum term employment contracts their future after the Navitas decision
Introduction The decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission on 8 December 2017 in Saeid Khayam v Navitas English Pty Ltd t/a Navitas English [2017] FWCFB 5162 (Navitas) has narrowed the opportunity for employers to rely upon outer limit or maximum term contracts as a defence to a claim for unfair dismissal. An…
Swearing in the workplace: The legal position
The recent Full Bench decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd T/A South32 v Matthew Gosek [2018] FWCFB 749 (Illawarra Coal), which garnered extensive media coverage, has once again put the spotlight on the issue of swearing by employees. Swearing in the workplace is more complex…
ACCC report highlights penalties for franchisors for failing to meet disclosure obligations
The ACCC has recently published its bi-annual “Small business in focus” report (‘the Report’) for the period July to December 2017, which includes insights into the work that the ACCC undertakes to protect franchisees. The Report includes statistics about the number of reports it receives about “Franchising Code related issues”…