On Wednesday 4 August the High Court upheld the appeal of labour-hire company, WorkPac, in a decision which will come as welcome news to employers.

The Court unanimously overturned the May 2020 decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court which had held that an employee of WorkPac, Robert Rossato, was entitled to paid leave entitlements and public holiday payments as a permanent employee of the company, despite being contracted as a casual worker.

A restraint clause is not enforceable just because an employee has signed an employment contract agreeing to it.

In Victoria, the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic) (Act) sets out employee entitlements to long service leave. Victorian employees are entitled to take long service leave after a minimum of 7 years’ of continuous service with one employer.

On 26 March 2021, the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) was amended to change workplace rights and obligations for casual employees. The changes were made by the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Act 2021 (Amendment Act). These changes came into effect on 27 March 2021.

As it currently stands, employers cannot force their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

While the question of whether an employer can direct an employee to have the COVID-19 vaccine has not been answered by a court or tribunal, employers should consider these factors first before such a direction is given to employees.

The Federal Court has awarded a payout of more than $5.2 million to a sacked senior manager of a publicly listed tech company, including a penalty of $7,000 payable personally by the company’s CEO.

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered a small Ballarat massage parlour, its accountant and officers of the employing company to pay penalties totalling $19,100 for contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010 over a 7 month period ending in July 2017.

In a significant victory for Australian employers, Cadbury manufacturer Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd and Federal IR Minister Christian Porter have won their High Court challenge to previous rulings about the meaning of the word “day” in the context of the Fair Work Act entitlement to personal/carer’s leave.

The Government will allow members to access $10,000 of their super benefits in the 2019/20 year and a further $10,000 from 1 July 2020 until 24 September 2020 in the 2020/21 year.

On 30 March 2020 the Federal Government announced further COVID-19 business support in the form of the JobKeeper Payment, which is intended to keep individuals connected with their employer and talks to the ‘hibernation’ of businesses already mentioned by the Prime Minister.

Under the JobKeeper Payment, businesses significantly affected by Coronavirus outbreak will be able to access a $1,500 support payment per employee per fortnight for up to 6 months from the Government to continue paying their employees.

A range of factors affect whether or not an individual engaged to perform work is actually an employee or an independent contractor.

A recent bid by Labor to disallow the Fair Work Amendment (Casual Loading Offset) Regulations 2018 has been defeated following a vote on 16 September 2019.

In the most recent chapter of the battle between the Victorian State Revenue Office and The Optical Superstore Pty Ltd, the Commissioner of State Revenue has claimed victory, with the Court of Appeal finding on 12 September 2019 that transfers of funds made to optometrists by Optical Superstore were subject to payroll tax under Victorian law.

When considering whether an allied health worker is an employee or a contractor, one factor to consider is in respect of the provision of tools, equipment and other assets required to undertake the work.

The measure of control exercised by one party over the other is an important factor in determining the nature of the relationship between a purported contractor and principal, or employee and employer.

Workers in the allied health industry, such as nurses, doctors and other professionals may find themselves exposed to many different risks and hazards on a day-to-day basis, including lifting and moving patients and equipment; work-related stress; slips, trips and falls; exposure to infectious diseases and occupational violence.

The tax obligations on a practice in relation to an employment relationship are often perceived as being significantly more costly (and restrictive) compared to simply engaging a practitioner as an independent contractor. However tread carefully when making this decision, as getting your characterisation of a worker wrong can be even more costly and you may find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

Upon the termination of a relationship between the practice and practitioner, who will retain the patient records? Where will they be stored? Is the practitioner permitted to access the records, or make a copy?

Medical, dental and allied health professional structures have and continue to be designed to engage professional staff that are labelled and treated as independent business operators known as “independent contractors”.

Many employers seek to enforce a requirement that its employees, or prospective employees, maintain a “satisfactory” criminal record. However, recently an employer’s ability to enforce such a requirement by terminating employment, or even withdrawing offer of employment, has been put into question by the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Fair Work Commission.