The Fair Work Commission has expressed a provisional view that a casual should be converted to permanent part-time employment, finding the employer was essentially unable not to offer him work.
The Federal Government intends to ban not only non-competes, but also terms that prohibit co-worker solicitation, and the use of "cascading clauses" in post-employment restraints, draft legislation shows.
The Fair Work Commission's landmark casual conversion ruling has implications for all organisations that engage casual labour, and its circumstances would likely have "tripped up" many employers, according to a lawyer.
The Federal Government has released its long-awaited response to a Fair Work Act review, committing to further consideration of the fixed-term contract limits and encouraging sector-specific efforts to pursue exceptions.
The Fair Work Commission has rejected that an employee's fourth consecutive fixed-term contract was excluded from the Fair Work Act's limitations, finding he was dismissed.
The Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by two employees who were ordered to pay a former employer $270k in damages, after breaching their contractual restraints and soliciting its clients.
After assuring an HR practitioner that her continuity of service wouldn't be broken when she transitioned from permanent to casual, an employer has nonetheless defeated her subsequent unfair dismissal claim by relying on an 11-day gap between her contracts.
A manager's fixation on workplace bullying meant he overlooked his employer's financial reasons for dismissing him as part of a leadership overhaul, the Federal Circuit Court has ruled, in rejecting his adverse action claim.
What defines a contingent worker remains "as clear as mud", according to a lawyer, who says employers must nonetheless step up their compliance efforts in line with increasing regulator activity.
All employers should consider putting in place a workplace s-xual harassment prevention plan, even though such plans are only expressly prescribed in one jurisdiction, according to a risk management expert.
Recent events have shone a spotlight on whistleblowing, placing employers firmly on notice that their response to a protected disclosure could be subject to intense scrutiny. Watch this webcast to understand the role HR plays in this challenging space.
