With the 2019 Federal Election looming and the timely Easter public holidays break now passed, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has reiterated his pledge to overrule the independent Fair Work Commission’s by reversing its penalty rates decision. This decision came into effect in 2018 and the current ALP policy proposes to interfere with the decision of…
Fake News: Who are the real victims of political misinformation?
In the era of fake news, modern society has never seen such high levels of political misinformation. Whether it has been the Brexiteers‘ guarantees of improbable prosperity for an independent Britain, or Donald Trump’s recent promises to “make America great again”, lazy and untested rhetorical concepts appear to have high political capital. Anyone seeking to…
Four Tips for Employers: Managing the Dreaded ‘Sickie’ Over the Easter Period
Published 15 April 2019 Chucking a ‘sickie’ is considered by some to be a great Australian past time. However, sickies can be an absolute nightmare for employers, especially small business owners who struggle to replace staff at short notice. There is a well-documented spike in the use of sick leave around public holidays and with…
2019 Federal Election snapshot
The time has come. Prime Minster Scott Morrison has announced the Federal Election for 18 May 2019. One thing is clear and that is that the outcome of the election will have a significant impact on the industrial relations and employment law landscape for many years to come. With further policies to be announced,…
Unpaid interns: An expensive lesson for fashion start up ‘Her Fashion Box’
Late last month, the Federal Circuit Court handed down significant penalties totaling $329,133 against online fashion start up Her Fashion Box Pty Ltd and its sole director Kathleen Purkis, in Fair Work Ombudsman v Her Fashion Box Pty Ltd & Anor [2019] FCCA 425. Judge Manousaridis found that Her Fashion Box had underpaid three young…
Recent case outlines importance for employers to recognise sexual harassment
Recently, in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal), in Kerkofs v Abdallah (Human Rights) [2019] VCAT 259, Ms Kerkofs (the Applicant) was successful in her sexual harassment claim against Mr Abdallah (the First Respondent), both were employees of Parker Manufactured Products Pty Ltd (the Employer). The Applicant claimed the First Respondent made ongoing…