It is now 12 months since the insidious discriminatory and sexually predatory behavior of powerful Hollywood moguls was exposed by a few very brave women. It is also 12 months since the phenomena of the #metoo movement. The fallout from all this publicity is certainly a heightened awareness of the unacceptable behaviours that occur at work, mostly against women. Now with the Christmas and New Year period upon us, many employers will be celebrating the end of 2018 with their employees. This is a fertile breeding ground for employees to “forget” they are required to adhere to a certain standard of behavior. However, with all employees more emboldened by the current climate, unacceptable behavior is far less likely to be tolerated and certainly much more likely to be reported.
The #MeToo movement has continued to expose the frequency of sexual harassment that occurs and continues to occur against women on a global level. Sexual harassment continues to be front and centre as a growing number of victims have come forward with their own #MeToo experiences.
In this week’s article we consider the continued effect of the #MeToo movement on Australian workplaces, the legal definition of sexual harassment and an employer’s responsibilities in relation to sexual harassment in the workplace. Most importantly, we consider what steps employers should be taking within their business to reduce the risks in this area. We also examine a recent decision which demonstrate the changing attitude of the Fair Work Commission towards sexual harassment in the workplace.
With the start of the new financial year and the annual increase in minimum wages, many businesses have most likely reviewed their pay rates and modern awards to ensure their company’s compliance in this regard. However, many businesses are failing to get some of the other basics right when it comes to record-keeping for their employees. In this week’s article we review an employer’s obligation in relation to payslips and employee records, the Fair Work Ombudsman’s current campaign on this issue and we review a recent decision which has imposed a record fine as a result of inadequate record-keeping.
Ordinarily, there is nothing very comic about legal contracts. In particular, employment contracts can be long, difficult to understand and full of legalese. As a way of tackling this, there is an emerging trend to think outside the box when it comes to contract law and expressing legal concepts. In this week’s client alert, we discuss the creative innovations that are being considered in contract design, specifically through the use of illustrations, diagrams and other comic-book like imagery.
If your business has a matter before the Fair Work Commission (“FWC”) you may automatically think that the you are entitled to legal representation in that matter and that your legal representative is able to appear for the business in the FWC proceedings. You would be wrong. The issue of legal representation before the FWC has become a hot topic as a result of a number of recent decisions. In this client alert we consider the extent to which employers have a right to be legally represented in FWC proceedings, and what this means for companies involved in such matters.
The environment in which work is conducted is no longer constrained by traditional notions of a workplace where certain tasks and activities are completed, between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. The modern workplace is constantly changing, and employers are having to adapt in order to keep pace. More frequently than not, work is now performed in a more dispersed and flexible manner, with emphasis being placed on the delivery of outcomes rather than satisfying attendance requirements or endless performance milestones. Employers now need to consider the consequential legal ramifications for themselves and individual staff members created by these seismic shifts in the way we work.
There have been a number of interesting and noteworthy cases determined by our judiciary in the employment law space in the last quarter. In this legal briefing we provide an overview of two significant cases. The first of the two highlights the challenge faced by employers in relying upon the opinions of medical professionals in determining whether (or not) an employee can perform the inherent requirements of the role for which they are employed and how employers ought to go about reconciling conflicting medical opinions about an employee’s fitness for work. The second matter relates to the exception available to employers under the National Employment Standards from the obligation to make severance payments in the case of a redundancy in circumstances where the impacted employee’s position is no longer required “due to the ordinary and customer turnover of labour”.
In light of the recent exhaustive and intrusive media coverage about The Honourable Barnaby Joyce MP’s affair with his staffer, the question that should be asked is whether the personal life of an employee is something with which the employer should be concerned or have any say. In this regard, the Prime Minister clearly is of the view that the answer to this question is in the affirmative. In other words, he sees no issue with an employer, in this case the Prime Minister dictating to his ministers what they can and cannot do in their personal lives, and in the most intimate of circumstances. Does this particular stance, however, apply to the working community at large as well as other workplaces?
What is on your agenda for the coming year?
Employers should get ready for what looks to be another fast-paced year filled with employment law developments. In the lead up to an election year next year, employment matters are squarely in forefront of political debate. In our first article for the year we review a number of updates and/or pending legislative amendments as part of the next wave of employment and industrial law regulations about which you should be aware.
With the Christmas and New Year period upon us, many employers will be celebrating the end of 2017 with their employees. Whilst the 2016 comedy film “Office Christmas Party” is an extravagant portrayal of a Christmas function gone bad and which seems, in many ways an over-exaggeration of what really happens, in our experience these Christmas events are notorious for being a potential breeding ground for inappropriate workplace behavior. These parties and events may put employers at risk of litigious actions such as sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination and unfair dismissal claims.
There have been a number of interesting legal matters heard by our judicial system within the employment law area in the last quarter. In this legal briefing, we provide an overview of two informative and instructive cases for employers, each dealing with their own unique and distinct employment law issue. In addition, we provide a timely update as to the progress of the union movement’s appeal to the Federal Court of Australia in the penalty rates decision that was handed down earlier this year.
Hiring a new employee is a crucial decision in any business. However, deciding on the most appropriate employment relationship for a growing business can be a daunting prospect. With so many types of employment arrangements now available such as full-time and part-time permanent employment, casual employment, temporary employment, internships and fixed term employment to name a few, each with their own respective advantages and disadvantages, it can be difficult to know which is the most appropriate arrangement to use for your business. It is crucial for employers to understand the differences between the respective ways in which an employee can be engaged, so as to enable the business to make an appropriate decision regarding the make-up of its workforce. In addition, incorrectly classifying an employment relationship can have serious detrimental consequences. In this article, we provide a summary of some of the most popular employment arrangements and how they can be used.