Changes Fixed Term Employment Contract Laws

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Fixed Term Employment Contract Laws have changed so If you use fixed term (temporary) contracts you will need to review them.      

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 includes significant changes regulating the use of fixed-term employment contracts. Changes will take effect on 6 December 2023 and will also apply to any fixed term contracts entered into since 6 Decem

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What is Annual Leave Loading?

Annual leave loading (leave loading) is an extra payment give on top of annual leave to pay, which is usually 17.5% (but may be higher depending on the award or agreement).

Dating back to the 1970s, leave loading was introduced to compensate employees for being unable to access overtime and shift penalties when on annual leave, resulting in a reduction in take home pa

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Termination of an employee, whilst often unpleasant,  is a common business reality. Gone are the days where employers could simply fire a staff member on the spot without consequences, and rightly so. Termination may occur as a result of:
  • Poor performance
  • Misconduct
  • Inappropriate behaviour
  • Redundancy
No matter what the reason for termination, employers must be diligent in satisfying provisions in legislation.  So, why is this so important? It is simple reall
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Unfair dismissal is when an employee is dismissed from their job in a harsh, unjust or unreasonable manner.

Before dismissing an employee for what you perceive as misconduct you first need to review your company culture and behaviours when deciding if someone has breached what you believe is standard. In a recent case, a sacked employee was awarded $296,650 in damages for being unfairly dismissed.  This employee was dismissed after arriving drunk at at a conference one morning.  He arrived late at the conferen
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It pays to dismiss right and stay fair.

Here is an example of how doing so, can save your business grief.... A forklift driver was sacked after breaking his employer's "golden rule" of operating a vehicle while a customer was in an exclusion zone.  The employee claims he was unfairly dismiss and has taken his case to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) The Fair Work Commission (FWC), has ruled that his dismissal was unfair. FWC heard this was the second safety-related incident during the forklift operator's
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In relation to a recent decision in the Fair Work Commission, it was clear that a genuine redundancy could only have occurred if the Company had complied with the consultation obligations contained in clause 8 of the Retail Award. The Company had argued the dismissal of the employee was the result of a genuine redundancy, and therefore the termination was effected for a valid reason and could not be characterised as harsh, unjust or unreasonable. However, it was unable to show where or how it had consulted with the em
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Termination of employment

The Full Federal Court has upheld a decision to quash the reinstatement of a ferry master sacked for returning a positive cannabis test after a crash. You would have recalled this from an earlier story and why it’s important is the finding that supports the employer’s dismissal in light of its zero tolerance drug policy. While on duty, the court was told, the ferry master misjudged an approach to a wharf and the ferry struck a pylon and  he was required to take a urine test, although he did not disclose that he
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We have stated all along the need to conduct investigations in a procedural, fair way. And here is another example that has only served to reinforce this position. In this recent case, Fair Work Commission stated an employer cannot claim to have fairly investigated an employee's alleged misconduct if they fail to interview them. The company argued its disciplinary procedures didn't require it to conduct an interview. But Fair Work Commissioner stated while the disciplinary processes did not "explicitly state" that an emp
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Employee Relations – Termination

A Fair Work Commission has determined a company had a valid reason for sacking its Sales Manager for (1) poor sales figures and (2) post-employment discovery of pornographic images on his mobile phone. However, as we read so often "substantial" procedural deficiencies made it unfair. These included: -          No documented warnings about the employee’s performance -          No opportunity to improve -          No opportunity for the employee to defend themselves -          S
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Out of Work Behaviour Deemed Unacceptable

The Fair Work Commission has ruled the dismissal of an employee not unfair for groping a bartender while staying at a hotel which was paid for by his employer. The employer regularly used the hotel for work and the employee had been warned after he had caused damage to a hotel room that any further misconduct which brought the company into disrepute would likely lead to dismissal. Note, the employee was only in the bar  as he was attending a training course due to his current employment with the company. Critically,
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