Our HR Blog.

Have you ever used the excuse "But I didn't know it was wrong…" and hoped to get away with something? Think again if you're planning on taking advantage of your employees. The Federal Circuit Court has sent a harsh warning to employers breaching industrial relations laws and instruments after ordering a Mahjong Club to pay more than $415,000 in compensation for breaching employment laws and engaging in adverse action, when they transferred their full time employee to a part time status foll...

Did you know that one in four Australians were born overseas? This means Australia's cultural diversity in the workplace is rapidly growing. Harmony day celebrates just that; Australia's cultural diversity. It promotes inclusiveness, respect for all and a sense that everyone belongs. Research has shown that businesses benefit from cultural diversity through greater employee commitment and team performance, larger market share as well as better customer and client satisfaction. So are you promot...

The 'big four' banks have been in the media a lot recently for all the wrong reasons. Did you hear about the recent case where ANZ was ordered to pay a former employee more than $110,000.00? A former banker was dismissed for serious misconduct after allegations arose that he had fraudulently doctored a confidential email and leaked this to the media. The issue? The NSW Court of Appeal (NSWCA) found that this decision was based on a flawed investigation process. And the worrying thing is that ...

Despite all of the media attention and repeated warnings from the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), employers are continuing to be caught underpaying their employees. The latest in a string of such cases shows business owners are simply not paying attention. What was it this time? The FWO has commenced proceedings against a small Melbourne retailer who had allegedly been underpaying three shop assistants with rates as low as $16-$17 an hour, which is not only well below the retail Award rates, but is...

The Federal Circuit Court has found a labour hire company, its director and HR manager all liable for falsifying employment records and making unlawful deductions from the wages of cleaners based in Melbourne's Crown Casino and Federation Square. The court accepted evidence that the company deducted an administration fee from 102 employees and meal allowances from another 44 employees, whilst providing the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) with falsified employment records. The FWO alleged that th...

It is Monday morning and your employee has called in sick. They don't sound unwell, and when you saw them on Friday they seemed perfectly healthy. The next day their doctor's certificate just says "unfit for work" but you really don't believe that they were. Can you push back and question their doctor's certificate? Questioning their doctor's certificate wouldn't be seen as questioning your employee, but rather is essentially accusing the doctor of a fraudulent certificate. Employers need to ...

Are you ready for your employee to request long service leave? While long service leave is the leave that can be predicted with the most certainty, it is often not thought about until it's too late. An employee knocks on your door and reminds you that they've been with you for ten years. Has it really been that long, you ask yourself? The employee requests their long service leave. Ah. That. That thing which you never thought about because it was always so far into the future. Or maybe you a...

Our 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service recently received an interesting question from a client about parental leave; "can a surrogate mother take parental leave?" This was a good example of one of the many unique situations that the Fair Wok Act simply does not contemplate. Luckily for our client, they had HR Assured and one of our experienced consultants was able to assist them. We've taken the opportunity to compile a list of the common questions that our clients ask about parental leave. Q: ...

On the back of the Productivity Commission's final report into the workplace relations framework published in December, expect to see major workplace reform become a hot political issue in the lead up to the 2016 Federal election. And believe it or not, it's mostly good news for owners or managers of small and medium sized businesses. Fair and reasonable workplace reform In all, the Productivity Commission made just short of 70 recommendations to reform key aspects of the institutions, laws...

Disability (whether temporary or long term) is a normal part of life for Australian workers. In fact, almost one in five Australians has a disability with approximately half of those individuals also participating in the labour force. Although recent decades has seen major advances made, disability discrimination is a complex and evolving area of law that is fraught with risk for employers. Your obligation to make reasonable adjustments Under Australia's strong anti-discrimination legislati...

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has today publically announced that it has commenced legal proceedings against a number of additional 7-Eleven stores after discovering further instances of the franchises substantially underpaying their employees arising from a targeted campaign of "surprise" night time audits. A lesson not learned Through this targeted campaign the FWO found that a number of additional 7-Eleven Franchises were paying their employees a flat rate of pay, sometimes as low as $17.74...

Over the past year, the Productivity Commission, which is an independent research body, has been developing recommendations to improve Australia's workplace relations. Yesterday, it released its final two volume report, bringing with it a wave of potential changes. This report generally commends our current workplace relations system, and only proposes minor amendments. The Commission is generally supportive of ideas which reduce confusion, allowing employers and employees to navigate the sys...

Fifteen years ago, the UN declared the 18th December to be International Migrants Day, in recognition of the rapidly growing numbers of migrants across the world, and in appreciation of the contributions that migrants bring to their adopted countries. A staggering 32% of Australians were born overseas, and migrants form 30% of our overall workforce, so such contributions are not insignificant. Australia's diversity is a frequent source of pride for our country, but we must be careful to celeb...

In a rare win for employers, the Fair Work Commission has found that the decision to terminate an obese employee was not unfair as his weight created a risk to work health and safety. Background The applicant lodged a claim for unfair dismissal after he was dismissed from his job as a Cool Room Operator at a distribution centre. He had been dismissed following fear that he may not be able to safely and competently perform his job. At one stage the applicants' weight had precluded him from op...

In a unanimous judgment handed down this week, the High Court has ruled that s357(1) of the Fair Work Act  2009 prohibits an employer misrepresenting to its employees that they are engaged as independent contractors, even if the work is arranged through a third party. What is Sham Contracting? Sham contracting occurs when an employee is deliberately disguised as an independent contractor. It may occur for a variety of reasons, such as an employer wishing to avoid paying tax or superannuation ...