The Federal Government has amended the Australian Human Rights Commission Regulations 1989 to provide employers with greater certainty about accepting or rejecting prospective employees based on their criminal records. This change to the regulations now sets a lower threshold for employers to lawfully decline job applicants with a criminal history. If challenged...
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The full Federal Court has ruled that 12-hour shift workers are entitled to accrue 120 hours of personal/carer’s leave each year under the National Employment Standards (NES), rather than 76 hours, as argued by their employer and the Federal Industrial Relations Minister. The NES provides 10 days of personal/carer’s leave...
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According to a briefing given to Federal Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter, the Morrison Government is expected to establish a National Labour Hire Registration Scheme in early 2020. Although the 2019/2020 budget allocation for the Fair Work Ombudsman to establish a National Labour Hire Registration Scheme comes into effect on...
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![NEWSFLASH: High Court rules on workplace Twitter case in Comcare v Banerji [2019] HCA](http://www.emalegal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/cell-phone-1245663_1920-WEB.jpg)
The High Court has struck down an AAT ruling that the Department’s dismissal of a public servant operating a Twitter account critical of the Department’s policies was unlawful on the basis of the implied freedom of political communication. Background Ms Banerji, an employee of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship...
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The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has considered how overtime and penalty rates should be applied in respect of casual nurses under the Nurses Award 2010 after the ANMF argued the Commission should not have approved an enterprise agreement because not all employees were better off overall. In...
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In February 2019, AFS Security 24/7 Pty Ltd dismissed one of its employees, a casual security guard, with a text message after two years of regular, rostered work. The text read ‘Effective immediately we no longer require your services.’ The security guard asked for an explanation by reply text and...
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A ruling by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) on 12 March 2019 highlights the need for employers to ensure they confirm the reason for payment of annual leave loading with employees. The Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 requires employers to make superannuation contributions to employees based on their ‘ordinary time...
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Consumer and Business Services (‘CBS’) has yesterday released an announcement advising that it will recommence accepting labour hire licence applications from 14 June 2019. Labour hire providers in South Australia must lodge their licence application by 31 August 2019. The announcement follows unsuccessful attempts by the State Government to repeal...
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On 30 May 2019, the Fair Work Commission delivered its annual minimum wage decision, raising the National Minimum Wage by 3.0% to $740.80 per week or $19.49 per hour , from 1 July 2019. This represents an increase of $21.60 per week, or 56 cents per hour. The 3.0% also...
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The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) establishes the criteria that must be satisfied by the Fair Work Commission before approval of an enterprise agreement. Section 180(5) of the FW Act provides that the employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the terms of the agreement, and...
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