Final reminder – important changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) take effect next week (6 and 7 December 2023)
Employers are reminded of the upcoming changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) in respect of the use of fixed-term contracts (effective 6 December 2023) and the sunsetting of ‘zombie’ agreements (effective 7 December 2023). Fixed-term contracts From 6 December 2023, unless an exception applies (refer to our 29 November 2022 legal alert here), an employer will
Sexual Harassment disputes in the Commission and the new laws
As per our previous legal alerts on 13 December 2022 and 30 March 2023, the new laws with respect to sexual harassment are now in place. Recent disputes in the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) have tested the new provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) […]
Bill introduced to ‘close the loopholes’
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has officially tabled the “Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023” which proposes to amend legislation including the Fair Work Act (FW Act) 2009. If passed in its current form, what has been proposed has the potential for significant and far-reaching impact […]
Labour hire schemes may be Nationally ‘harmonised’
Industrial Relations Ministers across Australia have agreed to produce a model for uniform labour hire regulation, to be considered by the end of this year. Labour hire providers, being businesses that provide workers to another host business, may currently be required to hold a license in […]
Working from home: employers’ health and safety obligations
Working from home arrangements are agreements between workers and their employers in which workers work from their own home, alone or with other household members present. Such arrangements may be temporary or permanent which generally provides the benefit of flexibility to the worker and/or the employer. […]
Testing the new ‘pay secrecy’ provisions
A matter before the Federal Circuit Court is set to test the provisions that prohibit pay secrecy. The applicant in the case was employed as a casual sales assistant in a Melbourne bookshop. The applicant has claimed her former employer stopped giving her shifts and dismissed […]