In this final edition for 2022, we discuss the recent legislative changes to the Fair Work Act and Anti-Discrimination laws, that the new Government has brought in as part of their election promises. We are also joined again by Samantha Mangwana of Shine Lawyers, who shares her insights into the amendments to the Respect@Work bill. We wish all our listeners a Merry Christmas and look forward to bringing you more employment law podcasts in 2023 ..read more

An employment contract is an integral part of the employment relationship. Contracts can exist in a non-written form, however the purpose of a written contract is to define the terms of what is being agreed, to avoid things getting lost in translation, or over time, forgotten. In this episode of our two part series, we discuss what we believe are the 9 critical express terms that should be included in a contract of employment, and why, being: Notice of termination Types of employment Place of work Remuneration Hours of work Off-set Entire agreement clauses Position descriptions Clauses to sur ..read more

In this episode of our podcast, we are honoured to be joined by Samantha Mangwana of Shine Lawyers. Samantha leads the Executive Employment and Partnership practice, and is a recognised expert on employment and discrimination law issues. Samantha shares with the team some of her experiences from before, during and after the media focus of the #MeToo movement, both in the U.K and locally here in Australia. We discuss employer obligations and the impact and response to sexual harassment in the workplace; risk factors and hierarchal environments; and whether Non-Disclosure Agreements, and the pos ..read more

As the weather starts to warm up and we approach the final quarter of the year, party season will be soon upon us. End of year parties can be great for team engagement, and as a celebration of the year's success, however they can also be fraught with legal risk for employers. In this episode of our podcast, we are joined by special guest Lizzy Boots, of Boots and All Consulting, to discuss some of the dangers of work social events, what employers should be aware of, and some practical measures to help employers avoid a 'cocktail of chaos'. For further advice or assistance please reach out to t ..read more

In this episode, we discuss workplace risks associated with employee social media use, including egregious misuse, and provide some practical steps employers can take to minimise those risks. We also bring you our new segment ‘Would you tweet that?’, where the team is challenged to come up with the most tweetable tweets of employment law news; and we give a final wrap up of our legal movie reviews … which movie came out on top ..read more

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has recently released its strategic priorities for the 2022-23 period, with fast food, restaurants/cafes, and agriculture key industries of focus. Added to the list is the universities sector, with the FWO concerned about allegations of long-running underpayments in many universities, citing management oversight, decentralised HR functions and lack of investment in payroll and time-recording systems as the trending causes of non-compliance.  With possible increased funding from the new Labor government, we may also see higher levels of enforcement, making emp ..read more

In this podcast, we discuss Part B of our e-publication “Termination of Employment: A Lawful and Ethical Approach”; termination of employment relating to the role (redundancy), where employment ends at the employers initiative in circumstances where the role or job is no longer required to be done by anyone. This podcast picks up from Part A of the publication; terminating employment in relation to employee capacity or conduct. For a full copy of the e-Publication, you can download the resource here: https://bit.ly/3zAqcty  We also bring you The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of employment la ..read more

This podcast is the second part of our series discussing managing absent employees. In this episode we address the management of employees that have had a long term absence due to personal injury or illness. We discuss how to take the next steps, the legal risks, and the procedures that need to be followed when it becomes apparent that the inherent requirements of the role can't be met.  This is a complex and high risk area of law and employers are advised to proceed with caution and seek legal advice for their specific situation.  We also bring you "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly" o ..read more

This podcast is the first of a two part series where we discuss managing absent employees. This first episode looks at how businesses can best manage short term or sporadic employee absences from work, to minimise the impact on the business whilst protecting employee rights. In the second episode, we take this further and discuss the more serious aspect of managing longer term employee absences that may be the result of illness or injury. We also bring you "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", our regular current affairs segment of recent employment law ..read more

Managing employee performance, both teams and individuals, is critical to a business' success. Failure to act early and decisively in the case of underperforming employees can be a costly mistake that employers make. In this podcast we discuss the key elements of managing performance, both on a practical and legal level, choices available for employers, and some pitfalls to look out for. We also bring you "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" of recent employment law news, and our legal movie review this episode is "My Cousin Vinny", starring Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei and Ralph Macchio ..read more