Retail and hospitality employers are awaiting the Fair Work Commission’s decision on penalty rates.

A small construction company has been ordered to pay penalties totalling $20,000 as a result of it sending text messages to workers, unlawfully stating they must be union members before commencing work on a construction site.

Labour hire companies will take some comfort in a recent decision of the full bench of the Fair Work Commission in an unfair dismissal case.

Many in the community anxiously await the decision by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on weekend penalty rates.  The Full Bench of the FWC recently issued further directions for further evidence to be adduced in order to assist it in coming to a decision.  That will mean a final decision will not be made for a number of months.

The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed that notices of employee representational rights given by an employer after the end of the 14 day period required by the Fair Work Act were invalid because of their lateness, and for that reason, the enterprise agreement they related to could not be approved.  

The Fair Work Commission has handed down a decision that will allow most employees to cash out some of their annual leave entitlements. These changes to modern awards apply from the first pay period on or after 29 July 2016.

Each year the Fair Work Commission reviews minimum award pay rates for each classification in an award.  The new rates apply from 1 July 2016.

Yesterday the Fair Work Commission handed down its Annual Wage Review decision, accessible here. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has, for the first time, commenced legal proceedings against an accounting firm alleging the firm was knowingly involved in underpaying its client’s workers.

Three Fair Work Commission General Manager reports were tabled in the House of Representatives this week. These reports presented research findings for the period May 2012–May 2015. Key findings of each report are as follows.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found a labour hire company (the employer) unfairly dismissed an employee after the host employer told the employer it did not want the worker at its workplace.

In a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission an employer was praised by the Commission for not rushing to a decision to terminate.  The employee was a habitual latecomer and worked as a motor vehicle detailer.  He had been given six previous written warnings as well as many verbal warnings by the employer. 

A recent Tribunal decision serves as a reminder to employers that the mere existence of workplace policies is insufficient to protect employers from employee claims. If a workplace policy is not effectively communicated to staff, an employer may be found vicariously liable for the actions of its employees, even when the employer has no active role in the prohibited behaviour.

The Final Report by the Productivity Commission (PC) was released today. As expected, the PC did not recommend a complete overhaul of the workplace relations system.

To help you navigate you through the silly season, the Employment, Industrial Relations & OHS team bring you this short yet comprehensive guide, Christmas Essentials.

Employers are warned not to take false comfort in the recent Federal Court decision in which it was upheld that an employer could dismiss an employee for refusing to attend a medical examination to determine his fitness for work.

The High Court has unanimously ruled that an employer breached the Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA) when it misrepresented to its employees that they were engaged as independent contractors and not employed as employees.

Important amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 have now come into effect. While several proposed amendments were jettisoned in the Senate, the Bill as finally passed does result in significant changes. Employers in particular should take note of the following amendments.

The Fair Work Commission (Commission) has upheld a company’s smoking ban following a challenge by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). Commissioner Tony Saunders held that the employer’s direction to ban smoking at its workplace, a complex which was comprised of two open cut mines and a coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP), was lawful and reasonable.

Both a HR Manager, as well as the company she worked for, were fined in the Federal Circuit Court in Adelaide as the result of a failure to pay to an employee proper notice.