​Employees have an absolute right to take leave when they are unwell or injured, or if they need to care for someone else, and generally a couple of days recuperation and they are back on the job and everything is hunky dory.  Sometimes though, a decision may have been made, or needs to be made, about the ongoing nature of an employee’s position in your company and you need to know if you can terminate the employment of someone who is on personal leave due to illness. ​Can an employee be terminated while on sick leave? Short answer: yes. However…   There’s always an however ..read more

​Last week, a lot of us had eyes locked on multiple screens as we desperately scrambled to score tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, so we might not have noticed a new financial year had kicked off bringing a swag of changes. Minimum wage increase Everyone is likely across this change so this is just a gentle reminder to check that all the updates have been made and that you are meeting your employer obligations as per the relevant awards.  For more information about the increase, click here.     Superannuation guarantee rate As of 1st July 2023, the superannuation guarantee r ..read more

​Who doesn’t love holidays!  Whether it’s sitting by a pool sipping cocktails, skiing down a mountain rejoicing in a fresh dusting of snow or maybe it’s exploring a new country and absorbing all that the local culture has to offer.  Without doubt, holidays are vital to both physical and mental wellbeing and of course you want your employees to be happy and healthy.  Most of the time, it’s a no brainer to approve leave, but there are times when it’s not convenient to the business so can you refuse? First up, annual leave is outlined under the National Employment Standards as a r ..read more

​Psychosocial hazards seem to be receiving a lot of attention – but why? The easy answer is that there is change to Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) laws and in particular, the Commonwealth Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards at work that took effect on 1st April.  Let’s dive in and take a look at what is happening and what this means to employers. Psychosocial Hazards First up, psychosocial hazards in the workplace “are aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm “ [1].  We all know a lot about physical harm such as tripping haza ..read more

​Arrgghh, one of your team has just handed you their notice.  You’re happy for them as they are moving to be closer to family but sheesh, that’s another thing on your to do list.  ​Great, now they are also asking for a week’s leave during their 4 week notice period.  Are they entitled to take this leave?  What do you do …? ANNUAL LEAVE Short answer, yes, they are absolutely entitled to take annual leave even though they have given notice, but they must first receive approval just like any other employee requesting leave.  You can refuse to approve the leave if the r ..read more

Can you require an employee to work on a public holiday?  The short answer is no, not anymore but there are considerations that need to be taken into consideration around employers asking and employees rejecting such a request. ​A court decision that occurred in late March has a few of you unsure as to what you can and can’t do when it comes to having your team working on public holidays so let's go over the decision and how it impacts your business. Essentially, the Federal Court found that an employer had contravened section 114 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) by unlawfully compelli ..read more

Deborah Peppard - Director  ​ ​A key change under the Secure Jobs, Better Pay amendments is called Multiple Employer Agreements (MEA) which will come into effect on 6th June 2023.  Now before you think "it only applies to businesses with large workforces or it’s driven by industries with strong unions such as construction so I won’t read this blog", think again.  There’s some really important information to unpack so settle in… MULTI EMPLOYER BARGAINING Once the changes are enacted in June, significant changes will come into play.  In particular, unions and employers will ..read more

​ There has been an incredible amount of legislative change relating to employment law so far this year, and there’s more to come!  The Fair Work Commission has confirmed amendments to the Professional Employees Award 2020 will take effect this year so let’s take a look at the changes and what you will need to do to be ready. Coverage What the Award actually covers has had a facelift.  Employees performing the following can be covered by the Professional Employees Award: professional engineering duties professional scientific duties professional information technology and/or telec ..read more

​​Fixed term contracts have their place but the changes that the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act means that the businesses that have fixed term contracts on a wash, rinse and repeat cycle will need to reconsider how they will proceed come 6th December 2023.  The Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act means that in most circumstances, fixed term contracts will be restricted in how many times they can be renewed or how long they can be in place. The changes Key to the changes are two main points: Fixed term contracts for the same role – or for significantly similar work – will be limited to two (2) c ..read more

​ ​There’s been a bit happening in the parental leave area of late, due to both the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act (Act) and more recently the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvement for Families and Gender Equality) Act 2023. As an employer, you will need to be across this information, but it is also  really important that you update your parental leave policy to reflect the changes.   To start, we’ll take a look at the Secure Jobs, Better Pay changes that will come into effect from 6th June 2023 as they roll out first and are fairly simple as they are in tune with the flexible wor ..read more