Following the 2018 Boland Review into the model Work Health and Safety provisions, workplace psychosocial safety has squarely been on the policy agenda.  Combined with recent changes as a result of the Respect@Work Report, the clear policy position, and expectation of society, is one of employers taking responsibility and being accountable for having workplaces that are both physically and psychologically safe.  In South Australia, its version of amendments to the Work Health and Safety regulations to deal with psychosocial safety commence on 25 December 2023, following similar legis ..read more

In comments to the National Press Club on 31 August 2023, Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke said that the Closing Loopholes Bill will address four key “pillars”: wage theft, casual conversion, labour hire, and “employee-like workers”, and that the Bill would not “reach into every workplace”.  While the Bill certainly deals with those four matters, there is so much more to unpack.  In this special long-form episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor, join Professor Andrew Stewart and Emily Haar as they discuss the considerable proposed reforms presented by this Bill.  If ..read more

Industrial manslaughter may soon be an offence in almost all Australian jurisdictions. Recent amendments in certain jurisdictions have also introduced the recommendation of the 2019 Boland Review to prohibit insurance and indemnities for WHS penalties.  In this episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor, join Emily Haar, Partner, and Joseph Hyde, Associate, for a review of the current status of these provisions, with a particular focus on the South Australian proposed industrial manslaughter legislation.  With Labor governments having been recently elected in South Australia, New So ..read more

International Women’s Day is observed internationally in March.  In this episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor, join Professor Andrew Stewart, Consultant, and Emily Haar, Partner as they discuss recent amendments to federal legislation designed to address pay equity for women, including the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act and the recently passed Closing the Gender Pay Gap Act. They also talk about the next batch of changes to the Fair Work Act in the new Protecting Worker Entitlements Bill.  Organisations will need to be across these many changes (with more still to come) to ensure ..read more

Organisations have legal obligations to consult with their staff in particular situations.  But what does that actually mean?  In this episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor, join Emily Haar, Partner and Emily Slaytor, Special Counsel in a discussion around the requirements to consult flowing from work health and safety legislation, Awards and Enterprise Agreements.  They discuss how various consultation obligations differ, what the Courts and the Fair Work Commission say is required to comply, and what is not consultation.  ..read more

It’s summertime in Australia and things are winding down, right? Perhaps not!   In this episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor join the National Employment Relations team for a review of what was in 2022, and what may be to come in 2023, including: the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act; the Respect@Work reforms; the prohibition of pay secrecy; Fair Work Ombudsman compliance measures; wage theft; the impacts of Jamsek and Personnel Contracting on workforce management; increases to Commonwealth penalty unit amounts; and the proposed South Australian industrial manslaughter provisions ..read more

Following our last discussion, in this edition Employment Law for the Time Poor, join Professor Andrew Stewart, Consultant, and Emily Haar (Partner), as they discuss some of the additional changes arising from the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022, and how the changes will impact organisations. In particular, they discuss: the delayed commencement of the fixed term contract limitations; required reviews of the amendments and Modern Awards; and multi-employer bargaining and the various hurdles to be overcome where single interest declarations are sought by empl ..read more

In this special bumper-edition of Employment Law for the Time Poor, join Professor Andrew Stewart, Consultant, and Emily Haar (Partner), as they discuss some of the key proposals arising from the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022, and how the changes, if passed, will impact organisations in every industry. The Bill proposes to significantly change how employers interact with their employees. Such changes are significant enough that organisations may need to reconsider their broader workforce strategy in the short to medium term ..read more

In part two of our two-part special series of Piper Alderman’s Employment Law for the Time Poor Podcast, join Emily Haar and Joe Murphy, Partners, and Emily Slaytor, Special Counsel, for a discussion about the Respect@Work legislative amendments to the legislation introduced to Parliament quite recently.  ..read more

In Episode 23 of our Employment Law for the Time Poor Podcast, join Partner Emily Haar and Special Counsel Emily Slaytor for a catch up on the recent decisions of the Fair Work Commission relating to COVID-19 vaccination, which provide assistance for employers looking to implement their own policies (consultation is the top priority), or where having to navigate the requirements of vaccination health orders and directions.  ..read more