Problems with difficult employees never resolve themselves and, if left unaddressed, can expose employers to legal risks, says workplace lawyer Brad Petley.
According to its explanatory memorandum, the Fair Work Act's good faith bargaining requirements are "generally self-explanatory" but RMIT law professor Breen Creighton says this statement is "extraordinary" and calls for greater guidance for employers.
Employers should consider excluding preferred hours clauses from enterprise agreements until Fair Work Australia clarifies whether they can pass the "better off overall" test, lawyers warn.
Now that the Fair Work Act's redeployment requirements have taken effect, even seemingly "unpalatable" redeployment options should be offered to employees, says Kemp Strang employment lawyer Lisa Berton.
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.
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.
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.
Industries that use a lot of on-call workers are moving towards people management best practice, but there is still work to be done, says HR Centre strategist Katherine Graham.
