Author: Brian Powles

Published 26 June 2016 A woman whose employment as a solicitor was terminated for repeated unexplained absences, which resulted from domestic violence, was awarded $11,064.28 in compensation after the Fair Work Commission found the dismissal was unfair. King was employed by Lee and Lyons, a law firm, on 15 December 2014. On 19 December, King…

Published 9 May 2016 Myth-Busting Claims About Casual Employees Casual employees are a valuable asset for many businesses as they provide the flexibility to cover shifts when other staff are sick or on leave, mean that there is someone to cover otherwise unpopular shifts and allow the business to react to increased customer demand at…

Published 28 March 2016 The Productivity Commission handed down its report into the workplace relations framework on 21 December 2015. The report concludes that the current industrial relations system is largely working well, but that it does require some tweaks to address the issue of balance between parties with interests in the workplace. The Productivity…

Published 28 March 2016 The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal awarded a woman $3,325.25 for economic loss and $10,000 for non-economic loss after her employment was terminated due to a workplace injury and a failure to make reasonable adjustments. Ms Butterworth worked at Independence Australia Services (IAS) as a Customer Service Officer from 2007 until…

Published 14 March 2016 Are you well set up for Workforce Success?  With the new business year now well underway, you will, no doubt, be seriously into workplace planning and strategising for the year ahead. Issues on the table might include:  Is hiring more staff a priority? Is a new Enterprise Agreement on the cards?…