This week's top stories in brief

The articles summarised below are accessible with a free subscription to HR Daily.

Workplace lawyers have clarified some of the confusion surrounding the JobKeeper scheme, which has come under fire for its lack of clarity. Kingston Reid partner Christa Lenard and special counsel Katie Sweatman say employers can face "pretty big sticks" for nominating too many – or too few – of their workers.

...

New research suggests the employment impacts of COVID-19 will be higher than previously estimated, with up to 26% of employees out of work in coming weeks. Also in this article: a framework for long-term remote working success; how grads will be "scarred" by their labour market entry; employees "confused" about JobKeeper; and more.

Many employers now have concerns about maintaining the productivity of their remote workforces, but this is absolutely not the time to introduce higher levels of monitoring, says Martin Edwards, from the University of Queensland's Business School. Organisations should be wary not to overcompensate for the lack of face-to-face contact with employees with electronic monitoring because this is a counterproductive response.

Premium content

The below articles are accessible with HR Daily Premium membership.

Employer branding remains critical in a downturn and in our new webcast, Peak Corporate Solutions director Malcolm Peak sets out some guiding principles. He also discusses how branding reflects organisations' core values; the impact of managers' behaviour on employer branding; and specific brand attributes and imagery that now require a rethink.

...

The Fair Work Commission has handed down its first rulings on COVID-19 redundancy pay reductions, upholding one employer's application to reduce the figure due to its financial hardship, but rejecting another employer's plea.

...

In a case with particular relevance given current hiring delays and uncertainty, the Federal Court has rejected that an employer took unlawful adverse action when it rescinded a candidate's job offer.

Did you miss...

FWC orders reluctant employee back to office in six-month trial

An employee who has worked exclusively from home since the first COVID lockdowns has been ordered by the Fair Work Commission to return to the office once a fortnight, after her employer provided detailed evidence of its need for in-person attendance. more

1 July 2026: What's changing today (and what might lie ahead)

  • Warning on pay cycle changes, as Payday Super starts
  • How to comply with out-of-cycle super contributions
  • Paid parental leave increases to 26 weeks
  • Minimum wages, high-income threshold and compensation caps rise
  • Psychological injury compensation changes in NSW
  • Greens call for dedicated LGBTIQA+ Human Rights Commissioner
  • Laws starting, proposed, recommended and under review more