Employers should take advantage of probation periods to actively manage and assess the performance of new employees, says Freehills workplace relations lawyer Shivchand Jhinku.
More than 50 per cent of SMEs have a poor understanding of the National Employment Standards, which came into effect on 1 January 2010, a survey of 350 employers has found.
HR Daily's most popular articles in 2009 fell into four broad categories - engagement and wellbeing, redundancies, leadership, and legal compliance - and here we bring you the year's top stories in each.
As the introduction of the Fair Work Act approaches the six-month mark, HR Daily gives you a run-down of five recent bargaining rulings - and why they matter.
End-of-year celebrations have always been fraught with risk, but the proliferation of mobile devices adds "e-harassment" to the list of potential risks employers must address, according to lawyer Lisa Berton.
Employers should act swiftly to ensure their directors, managers and senior executives will not be left "out of pocket" under new legislation designed to cap excessive termination payments, says Harmers Workplace Lawyers partner Jamie Robinson.
More than half of Australian workers don't currently feel able to negotiate pay with their employer, and less than half of those who do have taken action in the past year, according to the University of Sydney's Workplace Research Centre.
As the job market strengthens and inter-company movement increases, employers will be more likely to pursue litigation to guard their assets, predicts Harmers Workplace Lawyers partner Shana Schreier-Joffe.
With the holiday season approaching, employers need to beware that if they grant employees leave in advance there's a risk they won't be able to deduct it from the final pay packet, says DLA Phillips Fox senior associate Alex Manos.
"Naming and shaming" would be more effective than quotas in redressing the gender imbalance against women in senior leadership roles, according to former Apple managing director, Di Ryall.
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.
