Making employment laws fit for purpose will require much more than "tweaks", and already there appears to be a lost opportunity for input beyond the "usual suspects" with entrenched views, an IR heavyweight says.
HR's challenges around remote and flexible working will continue to develop in 2021, while compliance is an area that "will come back with a vengeance", an employment lawyer says.
A redeployment offer that added nearly two hours to an employee's daily commute was reasonable, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in reducing his redundancy pay. Also in this article: a roundup of recent dismissal cases; and other compliance developments.
The funder of two class actions no longer has to provide security for costs in case it loses, after a full Federal Court overturned a landmark decision.
The Fair Work Commission has again rejected undertakings that BHP's in-house labour hire organisation hoped would push its enterprise agreements over the line.
An employer and its directors have failed to argue they have "suffered enough" after underpaying workers and shouldn't be fined for their Fair Work breaches.
The ACCC is appealing a ruling that cleared a workplace relations advisor of misleading conduct. Also in this article: 7-Eleven has backpaid $173 million to workers.
More than 50 employers self-reported underpaying employees in the past year, the Fair Work Ombudsman's annual report shows. Meanwhile unfair dismissal claims have spiked in the Fair Work Commission, and general protections claims are now more common than EA approval applications.
Some employers have successfully stepped up to the task of managing psychosocial safety, but in many other workplaces, initiatives are falling flat. Join us for an HR Daily webinar to understand what's holding back progress in this critical space and how to move forward.
