The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) now contains a new definition of “Employment” and resets the test as to whether a person is an independent contractor or employee. It effectively turns back the clock to the position prior to the changes introduced by the High Court in 2022.
Major amendments to the unfair contractual terms (“UCT”) regime were introduced by the Treasury Laws Amendment (More Competition, Better Prices) Act 2022 (Cth) (the Amending Act) (“Amending Act”) which received royal assent on 9 November 2022, and which comes into effect this year, on 9 November 2023.
As we commence 2023, there is no doubt that this year will bring various challenges to many employers. As a result of various factors, including high inflation rates, rising interest rates, a slowing economy and lingering effects of the Covid 19 Pandemic, it is likely that this year will see organisations experience uncertainty and/or financial hardship. Recent changes to legislation will also put upward pressure on a number of businesses. This will likely result in organisations opting to restructure their businesses or make staff members redundant as a way to cut costs or down-size their businesses.
The passing of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation constitutes the biggest shake-up to Australia’s national industrial relations framework in over a decade. This alert provides a summary of the key amendments to Australia’s workplace laws, in addition to practical guidance on steps that employers need to take to ensure they are compliant with the Act.
In our final publication of the Back-to-Basics Series, we look at the ways in which an employment relationship can be concluded and the specific steps to follow in order to avoid seeing the inside of a courtroom and/or making substantial unplanned financial contributions to the outbound employee’s bank balance. Furthermore, careful management when bringing an employment relationship to an end, for whatever reason, can be achieved so that the departing employee does not leave disgruntled and likely to damage the business’ reputation.
In our fifth publication of the ongoing series, we now examine the role of modern awards and enterprise agreements in the regulation of employment terms and conditions. Other than the NES, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“Fair Work Act”) provides for a number of mechanisms to regulate basic terms and conditions of employment, the most important being modern awards and enterprise agreements.
An employment contract is an agreement between an employer and an employee which sets out the terms that will govern each individual employment relationship. An employment contract is created as soon as there is agreement between the parties regarding the employment. As such, even if there is no written document, an employment contract exists which governs the terms of the relationship. If there is no written agreement, the terms will be implied by law and fact. This creates significant uncertainty for both parties and a fruitful area for later litigation.