The Fair Work Act's flexible work provisions have been in place for well over a year, but many managers still don't have a "proper grasp" of them, and base their decisions on misunderstandings and prejudices rather than fact, says Mills Oakley partner Luke Connolly.
In the two years since the Fair Work Act's adverse action provisions commenced there have only been a handful of court decisions, but employers shouldn't assume they are unlikely to face a claim, says employment lawyer Natalie Spark.
Justice in Australian workplaces is heavily skewed toward the employer, with "the system" largely inaccessible to most workers, says Harmers Workplace Lawyers chair, Michael Harmer.
Employers could be found vicariously liable for the way their customers and clients treat employees following recent changes to the Federal Sex Discrimination Act, says Workplace TrainWise managing director Karen Maher.
An HR manager has been fined in the Federal Magistrates Court, in a case that sends "a clear message" about HR's obligations to provide employment advice, says Hicksons partner Brad Swebeck.
One of the challenges employers face when it comes to age discrimination is that "you're always going to be discriminating against one age group or another", says Clayton Utz lawyer Stuart Pill.
Inviting an employee who is being retrenched to apply for another position does not constitute redeployment, and could mean the employer fails the Fair Work Act's "genuine redundancy" test, Kemp Strang lawyers told a recent breakfast briefing in Sydney.
In a ruling that addresses some important issues on procedural fairness, Fair Work Australia has upheld a worker's dismissal for inappropriate conduct despite her employer's failure to provide her with all the information on which its decision was based.
Too many employers put their "heads in the sand" when in doubt about the clarity of their contracting arrangements, but it's far better to "crystallise their liability", says employment lawyer Brad Swebeck.
Discrimination against people who smoke or are obese is an emerging issue in many workplaces, according to a new International Labour Organisation report, which says raising awareness is a key to driving change.
