Published 8 April 2020 On 28 March 2020, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) decided to vary the Clerks—Private Sector Award 2010 (the Award) by inserting Schedule I – Award Flexibility During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Schedule aims to apply from 28 March 2020 until 30 June 2020. In summary, the temporary changes to the Clerks…
Category: News & Commentary
COVID-19 Update: JobKeeper Payment – What we know so far
Published 6 April 2020 On 30 March 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the Government would introduce ‘a $1,500 per fortnight JobKeeper payment to keep Australians in their jobs’. An urgent announcement made which was intended to prevent job losses. However, this scheme will depend upon legislation being enacted. We understand that parliament will return…
Why Mental Health is an Employer’s Issue
Awareness of mental health has been growing and expanding in recent years, with good reason. Last year the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that around 45% of Australian’s between the ages of 16 and 85 will experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives. These statistics mean almost everyone in today’s society…
How long is a day?
The law is an occupation that deals primarily with language. Words have both an ordinary meaning, and a legal meaning. Lawyers and parties to litigation will often ask the courts to define the legal meaning of words, when the ordinary meaning is plainly obvious. While this may seem a waste of the court’s time and…
The Misuse and Abuse of the FWC’s Stop Bullying Order Applications
In a decision by the Fair Work Commission (the Commission), Deputy President Sams warned against Applicants’ improper use of stop bullying applications “as a deflection, or diversion, or even to overturn a justified disciplinary action”. The detrimental effects of workplace bullying on employees are well known and include decreased productivity, reduced well being, and increased…
Enterprise Agreements – Better Off Overall Test
There are two steps to obtaining approval for a new enterprise agreement. The first step is for employees to vote on whether they approve of the proposed enterprise agreement. If the majority of employees vote in favour of the new enterprise agreement the agreement progresses to the second step. The second step in approving a…