In our last newsletter we shared a summary of recent and proposed changes to the Fair Work Act and other employment legislation. Since then the Closing Loopholes No. 2 legislation has received Royal Assent, and the Commission has announced start dates for these reforms…

In accordance with the National Employment Standards (NES) under the Fair Work Act, all employees (including part-time and casual employees) will be entitled to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave (FDVL) in a 12-month period…

A raft of changes to Federal employment laws commenced in December last year in response to the current government’s push for social reform…

A natural disaster, such as river flooding due to heavy rain, is usually covered by stand down provisions under the Fair Work Act (s.524).

In a stand down situation, employees are generally sent home, do not work, and are not paid if meaningful work cannot be provided to them.

However, if the employer can provide meaningful work for some or all employees, the legislated stand down protections may not apply. In such case…

The Fair Work Commission has announced that a 5.2% increase will apply to the minimum wage and a 4.6%, increase to Modern Award minimum wages with effect from the first pay period in July 2022.

The following will apply:

The legislated minimum wage will increase by…

After two years of COVID-19 disruption, some organisations have completely returned to pre-Covid arrangements with staff returning to their workplaces.

Other organisations have accepted that their future might be one characterised by permanently changed working arrangements - with employees alternating between working on site and at home; or at home all the time except for the occasional meeting or company social function….

While we all hoped that 2022 would see COVID-19 settling down, it is now apparent that the pandemic is going to continue to challenge businesses, for at least the first half of this year.

Here are some suggestions to ensure your business is ready for further people management challenges as we head into 2022…