In this week’s blog we take a look at a recent employment law case in which Commissioner Crawford of the Fair Work Commission was required to determine whether an employee had commenced employment with an employer and would therefore be entitled to pursue their General Protections Application against the Employer.  The main question that Commissioner Crawford was required to answer was whether the employee’s employment had commenced despite the employee not providing the information required for onboarding them onto the employer’s internal systems. Mr Gabriel Peddie v CJ Global Tech Pty ..read more

In this week’s blog we take a look at a recent employment law case in which Perram J of the Federal Court of Australia ordered that an employer reinstate an employee who had been dismissed, on an interim basis whilst their general protections application is heard by the court. This was ultimately ordered as the dismissal would have significant consequences for the employee, Mr Christopher Toppo as he is currently on a visa sponsored by his employer meaning he would have to leave the country prior to his matter being dealt with by the court were he not reinstated.  Toppo v P & J Harr ..read more

In this week’s blog we take a look at a recent employment law case in which an employee’s resignation was found to be not legally effective as it was given when the employee was in a state of emotional stress or mental confusion. The consequence was that the employee was found to have been dismissed rather than to have resigned, leaving the door open for a claim against the employer. Dwayne Anthony Brunné v David Mansart [2024] FWC 579 This matter was heard by Deputy President Wright (DP Wright) of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) pursuant to an application made by Mr Dwayne Anthony Brunné (Mr ..read more

In this week’s blog we take a look at a recent employment law case in which a former director, general manager and accountant were ordered to pay significant penalties as a result of their involvement in breaches of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)(‘Fair Work Act’).  The FWO was able to rely on the “accessorial liability” provisions of the Fair Work Act to bring claims on the individuals involved in the contraventions, not just the employing entity. What is accessorial liability? In the context of employment law, accessorial liability occurs when an individual is held to be personally resp ..read more

In this week’s blog we take a look at whether an employer can require an employee to spend their own money in a particular way or to pay back money to the employer with reference to a recent employment law case.  Section 325 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) provides that an employer must not directly or indirectly, require an employee (or prospective employee) to spend, or pay to the employer or another person, an amount of the employee’s money if: the requirement is unreasonable in the circumstances; and  for a payment – the payment is for the benefit of the employer (or a party r ..read more

In this week’s blog we look at a recent employment law case that was heard by a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in December 2023. The Full Bench consisted of FWC President Justice Hatcher, Deputy President Wright and Commissioner Crawford. The central issue in this case was determining the validity of a notice of discontinuance filed in a general protections matter, where the employee was being represented by a paid agent.  What is a notice of discontinuance? A notice of discontinuance also known as Form F50 is used by an applicant (which is typically the employee) in proce ..read more

In this week’s blog post, we look at a recent employment law case heard by Commissioner Allison of the Fair Work Commision. The central issue in this case was whether an employee was considered to be “dismissed” under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act) and therefore entitled to bring a general protections claim against her former employer.  Kerri Anne Hughes v  Alcoa Portland Aluminium Pty Ltd  This matter involved a jurisdictional objection to a general protections application made under the Fair Work Act in which the Respondent, Alcoa Portland Aluminum Pty Ltd (Alc ..read more

In this week’s blog we look at the current rules around casual conversion with reference to a recent employment law case. We note that the rules regarding casual conversion are subject to change with the introduction of part two of the Closing Loopholes Bill which is set for legislative debate early in 2024.  What is Casual Conversion? Casual Conversion is the process of converting casual employees into either permanent part-time or full-time employees. All casual employees covered by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) have a right to casual conversion if they meet the eligibility criteria ..read more

What are fixed term contracts?   As the name suggests a fixed term contract is an employment contract that applies for a specified period of time and comes to an end automatically at the end of that period. This period of time is typically defined in the employment contract with reference to either:  the specific start and end dates; or an end date set by a specific event; or   the end of a specific task or project.  The term “fixed term contract” is often used to describe different types of contract which apply on a temporary basis. The first of these are “true fix ..read more

In this week’s blog we look at deeds of releases with reference to a recent Federal Court Case in which a former employee had his litigation thrown out of court after it was found that the deed of release he had signed acted as a bar from bringing any proceedings. What is a deed of release? A deed of release is a legal binding document that contains the terms of an agreement between two or more parties and acts as a bar from future legal proceedings. In an employment law context these are typically used when settling a dispute between an employer and employee or when an employee is leaving ..read more