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Christmas Tips (200 x 200 px)

Employment Update

Christmas party tips & traps – high spirits without a legal hangover

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Somehow, it is that time of year again; there is tinsel in the stores, everything tastes like ginger, and your calendar is filling up with events. Whilst we can’t assist you with baking or decorations, Aitken Legal is here to help ensure your workplace celebrations are remembered for all the right reasons. Set out in […]

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Copy of adverse action (200 x 200 px)

Employment Update

Failure to provide light duties adverse action

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The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (‘Court’) has recently determined that a failure to provide alternative ‘light’ duties to an injured employee constituted adverse action, and ultimately represented a breach of the general protections provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (‘FWA’). While compensation and penalties are yet to be determined by the […]

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EU Redundancy (200 x 200 px)

Employment Update

High Court weighs in on redundancy -Fair Work Commission entitled to consider contractor positions

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The Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) could inquire into whether it would be ‘reasonable in all the circumstances’ to redeploy employees to work performed by contractors rather than make their employment redundant, held the High Court. This is an important decision for employers to understand because: It adds an additional step to the redundancy process for […]

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Right to disconnect (200 x 200 px)

Alert!

The ‘right to disconnect’ comes into force for Small Businesses on 26 August 2025

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Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act amended the Fair Work Act 2009 to prevent employers from contacting employees (or attempting to contact) outside of their ordinary work hours. For non small businesses (with 15 or more employees), this came into effect on 26 August 2024 and for small businesses (with less than 15 employees), this came into effect […]

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policies (200 x 200 px)

Employment Update

No policy = $100,000 fine

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Earlier this year, a Victorian Magistrate’s Court handed down a $100,000 fine and a costs order against an employer in a decision which highlights the importance of having proper policies and procedures. In this Employment Update we discuss two decisions that highlight the cost of not having proper policies, procedures, and training regimes in place.  […]

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Employment Update

Flexible work requests – not just a formality

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The Fair Work Commission (“FWC”) has overturned an employer’s refusal of a flexible working arrangement request, stating that “the importance of the written response” required by the Fair Work Act “cannot be understated”. In this employment update we discuss what flexible working arrangements are, who is entitled to request them, and what went wrong for […]

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Prevention Plan (200 x 200 px)

ALERT

Your sexual harassment prevention plan requirements

From 1 March 2025 with employees in Queensland are required to prepare (and follow) a sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment prevention plan (“Plan”). The risk management process is set out in the ‘Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work’ Code of Practice, which can be accessed here. Broadly speaking, the Plan must: […]

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Resignation forced (200 x 200 px)

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE

Constructive dismissal: when is a resignation considered ‘forced’?

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Two recent decisions of the Fair Work Commission have provided guidance on when a resignation may be considered ‘forced’, and so a dismissal at the employer’s initiative. One of these cases involved a situation where the employee was refused a discretionary bonus, while the other involved an employee being required to make repeated requests for […]

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