'Part-time flex' employment is being proposed in this week's IR omnibus bill, while other newly announced measures include a criminal offence of wage theft, and extending pandemic-related flexibilities.
Details of the imminent IR legislation have now been revealed, including a statutory definition of casual work, a fix for double-dipping claims and expanded casual conversion rights.
Research the FWC is using to inform its award flexibility proposals suggests employees should have a right not to work from home. Also in this article, a new Australian study outlines optimal working from home conditions.
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 Fair Work Commission has handed down important rulings for employers on calculating overtime rates for casual employees, and what constitutes regular and systematic employment.
Workers' compensation schemes should fund treatment and rehabilitation for all mental-health-related claims for up to six months, regardless of liability, a major report recommends.
The JobMaker hiring credit will create "bad jobs", a Senate committee has been warned. Meanwhile a tech employer expects its new, global 'virtual first' work policy to open up much broader talent pools.
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.
