Australia: Recent changes to the Fair Work Act

Several important changes were made to the Fair Work Act with effect from 1 July 2013. Others have been legislated to take effect from 1 January 2014. As a result, employers wanting to keep up with (or ahead of!) their statutory obligations should be looking now at their policies and processes relating to a range of matters.
Key points

The National Employment Standards have been changed, effective from 1 July, in relation to various parental leave entitlements and requests for […]

By | August 28th, 2013 ||

Workplace Policy Institute – A Special Labor Day 2013 Report: Is Labor Poised For Rebirth?

In July 2013, the AFL-CIO released a report in advance of its annual convention that provides a blueprint of how the labor movement intends to reinvent itself.  The document –  Interim Report to the AFL-CIO Executive Council on AFL-CIO Pre-Convention Outreach and Engagement – discusses the organization’s many outreach efforts, and how it plans to evolve and adapt to combat waning membership.

The release of the union’s report coincides with significant executive-level appointments to federal agencies […]

By | August 28th, 2013 ||

Transport employer and sole director face significant penalties for Sham Contracting

Happy Cabby Pty Ltd (Company) and Mr Graham Paff, the Company’s sole director and company secretary, have recently been ordered significant penalties for sham contracting and underpayment and payslip contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act): over $250,000 for the company and approximately $50,000 to Mr Paff. The Company and Mr Paff were also ordered to pay relevant employees’ outstanding award entitlements of approximately $25,000.
Background
The Company operated a transportation business transporting people from the […]

By | August 27th, 2013 ||