Updates - Page 6 of 27 - Aitken Legal

February 16, 2022

ALERT!
The High Court provides clarity for employers to determine whether a person is a contractor or not

Last week the High Court handed down two highly anticipated decisions, the first decision determined that an unskilled construction labourer engaged by a labour hire company was an employee despite a signed Administrative Services Agreement (‘ASA’) describing the worker as a “self-employed contractor”. The second decision determined that two truck drivers, despite providing exclusive delivery […]

January 31, 2022

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
An employee’s defiance of a public health order was a valid reason for dismissal

COVID-19, Termination of Employment, Unfair Dismissal

In a recent unfair dismissal decision, the Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) confirmed that a crane company had a valid reason to dismiss a mobile crane operator (‘employee’), who attended an illegal protest in contravention of a Victorian Government public health stay-at-home order (‘PHO’). Significantly, the FWC rejected the employee’s claim that although he had attended […]

December 22, 2021

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
2021 – A Year in Review

Awards and Employee Entitlements, COVID-19, Employment Contracts, Independent Contractor Agreements

2021 has been a challenging one for employers. Not only have we seen many of our clients grapple with the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the legal challenges that have come with it, but also do their best to keep up-to-date with many other employment law related developments throughout the year. In this Employment Update […]

December 8, 2021

ALERT!
Public Health Direction behind 17 December 2021 restrictions finally released

COVID-19, Employment Contracts, Policies and Procedures

Yesterday, the Queensland Government released the ‘Public Health and Social Measures linked to vaccination status Direction’ (‘Direction’) which will be effective from 5am (AEST) Friday, 17 December 2021. This is the direction that underpins the Queensland Government’s announcement of restrictions for unvaccinated persons on 9 November 2021. A link to the Direction can be found […]

November 30, 2021

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
COVID-19 vaccination mandate – but what happens when employees don’t comply?

Employment Contracts, Policies and Procedures

The last two years have been challenging for employers in more ways than one. Employers have dealt with the financial and operational effects of COVID-19 and now they are faced with a new challenge, the dilemma of mandatory vaccination. In this Employment Update we will briefly consider two recent cases dealing with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination […]

November 16, 2021

PUBLIC SECTOR
Rise of the unregistered “fake” union

Public Sector

Unregistered “fake” unions have increased their presence in Queensland and New South Wales,[1] and are actively supporting the anti-mandate movement in respect of COVID-19 vaccinations. These organisations are targeting new members in the nursing, teaching and law enforcement industries. Most (if not all) of these organisations have been established as corporations. This means that the […]

October 29, 2021

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
Confusion about “temporary” absences clarified by the Fair Work Commission

Managing Ill and Injured Employees, Unfair Dismissal

In this Employment Update we deal with the often vexed question of “temporary” absence and the three (3) month period referred to in the Regulations to the Fair Work Act. The Fair Work Commission has considered the meaning of a “temporary” absence in two recent unfair dismissal decisions, both heard by Commissioner Jennifer Hunt. Both […]

October 29, 2021

ALERT!
2.5% Minimum Rate Increase – Group 3 Modern Awards

Awards and Employee Entitlements

In June this year, the Fair Work Commission increased the National Minimum Wage by 2.5%, and for the same increase to be applied to the minimum wages set out in each modern award. For the majority of awards the increase took effect from 1 July 2021, for other awards the Commission deferred the operative date for […]

September 30, 2021

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
Respect@Work legislation gets the green light

Discrimination and Harassment

In this Employment Update we will discuss the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021 (Cth) that commenced operation on 10 September 2021. We will outline the reasons behind the changes and what they mean for employers. Background In 2018, the Australian Human Rights Commission conducted a National Inquiry into Sexual […]

September 16, 2021

PUBLIC SECTOR
Attempt to arrange IME falls foul of Information Privacy Principles

Public Sector

In the recent decision of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) in AA v State of Queensland (Office of Industrial Relations) [2021][1] an employee was awarded $20,000 in compensation due to the unlawful disclosure of his personal information. Relevant background The matter concerned an employee who had been absent from work for an extended […]

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