The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission this year determined an increase to the National Minimum Wage of 1.75%, and for the same increase to be applied to the minimum rates in each Modern Award. As Aitken Legal previously reported, the increases to Award rates of pay are to take place on a staged […]
The Queensland Government has announced frontline and support health care staff will be able to access up to an additional two days leave in acknowledgment of their hard work during COVID-19. The additional leave will apply to Queensland Health permanent and temporary full-time health care staff (non-executive) for the Department of Health, Hospital and Health […]
JobMaker Hiring Credit As part of the Federal Government’s $74 billion JobMaker Plan announced in the 2020-21 Federal Budget, $4 billion has been allocated to what is called ‘JobMaker Hiring Credit’. This is aimed at providing businesses with an incentive to take on employees aged between 16 and 35 years old. The JobMaker Hiring Credit […]
As part of the Federal Government’s $74 billion JobMaker Plan announced in the 2020-21 Federal Budget, the government is investing an additional $1.2 billion through the Boosting Apprenticeships Wage Subsidy to encourage the employment of new apprentices and trainees. Employers (including Group Training Organisations) engaging an Australian Apprentice on or after 5 October 2020 may […]
In April 2020 the Commission of its own initiative varied 99 awards to insert a new Schedule X to provide unpaid pandemic leave and the option to take twice as much annual leave at half pay. Schedule X was to operate until 30 June 2020 (see previous alert). Since April, Schedule X has been extended […]
The Criminal Code and Other Legislation (Wage Theft Amendment Act 2020 (Qld) commenced on 14 September 2020. The new legislation allows for the prosecution of wage theft as an offence of ‘stealing’ by amending the definition of stealing and introducing a higher maximum penalty where there is ‘stealing’ or ‘fraud’ by an employer with respect […]
JobKeeper 2.0 takes effect from 28 September 2020 The Australian Government announced the introduction of the JobKeeper scheme in March 2020 to assist employers and employees significantly affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19 (JobKeeper 1.0). Due to renewed concern regarding the economic impacts and the spread of the Coronavirus, the Government announced in July […]
The current JobKeeper Payment of $1,500 per fortnight will cease on 27 September 2020 and from 28 September 2020, for those eligible employees and employers, the JobKeeper Payment will be reduced in two stages, and will move to a ‘two-tiered system’. The first reduction will take effect from 28 September 2020, and the second reduction […]
This month we look at a very topical case involving an employer who terminated an employee for redundancy reasons as a result of COVID-19 impacts to the business, and failed in its defence of the subsequent unfair dismissal claim. On 18 March 2020, the employer, a business advisory and accounting business, met with its employees […]
On 13 August 2020, a High Court majority overturned the Full Federal Court’s judgment in the well-publicised decision of Mondelez v AMWU. Last year’s judgement of the majority of the Full Federal Court confirmed that personal/carer’s leave was to be accrued and taken by reference to “days”. The result of this decision was that two […]
