A recent decision in the South Australian Industrial Relations Court has shown that an occupational safety and health (OSH) legislative compliance audit can significantly reduce the penalty imposed following an OSH incident by demonstrating a commitment to improve safety. In Boland v Trading Metals Pty Ltd [2015] SAIRC 30, the respondent was charged with breaching … Continue Reading
The Government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to review Tier 2 of the UK’s immigration system “with a view to significantly reducing net migration to the UK”. On 25 September we submitted our response to the MAC’s call for evidence. It took into account opinions canvassed from a number of international clients and contacts … Continue Reading
Last month the Australian Fair Work Commission made its first formal bullying finding since the introduction of new anti-bullying laws at the start of 2014. The Commission found that two employees of a small real estate business subjected to repeated unreasonable behaviour by a property manager had been bullied at work within the meaning of … Continue Reading
With the AFL Finals fast approaching, the office tips are bound to get a little heated! However, you may want to think twice before taking too big a punt on whether a worker in Australia is an employee or an independent contractor. In the recent appeal case of Tattsbet Limited v Morrow, the Full Court … Continue Reading
A number of cases this year have highlighted that even though the Australian Fair Work Act 2009 regime is generally a “no costs” jurisdiction (i.e. a win does not ordinarily result in an award of costs in the successful party’s favour), the unreasonable conduct of claims can come at a high price for applicants. Costs … Continue Reading
The Government recently announced a new three-part complying investment framework for the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) and Premium Investor Visa (PIV) programme. These visas offer pathways to permanent residency, subject to significant, complying investments being made in Australia by the applicants. From 1 July 2015, new SIV applicants will be required to invest at least … Continue Reading
While Facebook continues to produce evidentiary gold for employers seeking to prove employee wrongdoing, a recent New Zealand case demonstrates that privacy settings can’t be ignored. In a recent ruling, the New Zealand Human Rights Review Tribunal ordered an employer pay an ex-employee a hefty $168,000 after it wrongfully accessed her Facebook page and maliciously … Continue Reading
In April 2015, Mr and Mrs Choong’s wallets took a whopping $175,400 hit after the Federal Court ordered their company to pay the largest-ever civil penalty for breaching sponsorship obligations under the subclass 457 visa program. Just five weeks later, the Choongs were ordered to pay a further $125,956 to reimburse the Filipino workers their … Continue Reading
A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in Sydney, Australia has highlighted the risks of inter-office relationships, particularly between managers and their subordinates. The FWC upheld Westpac’s summary termination of a long-serving branch manager who had been romantically involved with one of his direct reports. The bank became aware of the relationship after … Continue Reading
There has been a long running battle in Australia about whether an employer, when testing for drug use, can ask employees to provide a urine sample. Many unions have resisted the introduction of urine testing, arguing that saliva testing is sufficient and, as such, the process of sampling urine is an unjustified invasion of privacy. … Continue Reading
Following publication of the independent review into the Temporary Skilled (Subclass 457) visa program, the federal government announced on 18 March 2015 its intention to implement a number of the proposed changes to ‘increase flexibility and reduce restrictions on 457 programme users while maintaining integrity in the programme’. Despite growing suspicions that this would be … Continue Reading
Following the publication of the independent review into the Temporary Skilled (Subclass 457) visa program, the federal government announced on 18 March 2015 its intention to implement a number of the proposed changes to ‘increase flexibility and reduce restrictions on 457 programme users while maintaining integrity in the programme’. Despite growing suspicions that this would … Continue Reading
Groups of formerly disengaged and uncommitted employees will soon be queueing at HR’s door to ask for copies of your company’s new employee share scheme (ESS), or so runs the unwritten subtext of the Australian Federal Government’s new proposals in respect of employee participation in business ownership. After much deliberation the Australian Federal Government has … Continue Reading
You won’t be surprised to know that the word “poly” comes from the Greek word “polýs” which means ‘many’. But did you know that, earlier this year, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in Bunning v Centacare [2015] FCCA 280 was faced with the question of whether an employee of a religious organisation could be … Continue Reading
In the aftermath of International Womens’ Day, the history books were once again re-written when the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal classified a pregnant worker’s severe morning sickness as a disability under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic). Ms Bevilacqua was a full time Sales Consultant at a Telstra store up until October 2013 when … Continue Reading
In a sequel to our blog last year concerning Australian employers using expletives towards employees (click here), the Fair Work Commission was recently faced with the converse scenario, this time being asked to rule on whether an employer was entitled to summarily dismiss an employee who had inadvertently sent him a text message in which … Continue Reading
There’s never been a more opportune time for employers in Australia to review their contracts and policies than now, with the NSW Supreme Court this week awarding more than $3 million to a chief executive after finding his employer’s redundancy policy was incorporated into his employment contract. Mr James was the CEO at ABN AMRO … Continue Reading
Taking a stand against jilted ex-lovers, Western Australia has joined the UK and USA to fight the war on ‘revenge porn’. Revenge porn occurs when the (either actually or imminently) ex-partner posts nude or intimate pictures or videos online without consent. In the absence of appropriate laws, perpetrators have often escaped liability. In response, countries … Continue Reading
When does work experience become exploitation? When is an unpaid internship a ‘vocational placement’ (which is legal under the Fair Work Act (Cth) 2009) and when is it not? These questions were at the heart of a recent prosecution by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) of TV and radio producer Crocmedia Pty Ltd, for failing … Continue Reading
The United States and the People’s Republic of China agreed to increase the validity of short-term business and tourist visas and student and exchange visas issued to citizens of each country. Effective November 12, 2014, Chinese nationals can now obtain B-1 (business) and B-2 (tourist) nonimmigrant multiple-entry visas for up to 10 years. Previously, these … Continue Reading
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan recently released figures showing a 12% year on year rise in reported work-related illness claims. In a third of these cases, employees were awarded compensation after claims of ‘power harassment’ or “dramatic and uncompensated rise in workload” were upheld. Of course, instances of workplace harassment are … Continue Reading
