A Queensland employee who was sexually assaulted by a customer has been awarded almost $500,000 in damages after a court found her employer failed to address risks associated with working alone.
Intellectual property (IP) theft and fraud are rampant in the workplace, and can cost businesses millions of dollars in lost customers and eroded confidence, KordaMentha partner (forensic) Nigel Carson told a Kemp Strang briefing in Sydney last week.
Employers who are wary of unfair dismissal claims should consider paying off poor performers - provided the pay-off remains confidential, says Freehills lawyer Natalie Spark.
Interview questions about a candidate's fitness for work must be clearly linked to the relevant statement of duties, says Blake Dawson employment lawyer Stephen Woodbury.
Employers won't necessarily be able to offset their existing paid parental leave programs with the government's new scheme, says workplace relations lawyer Mick Moy.
The Fair Work Act and some recent caselaw have made engaging contractors less attractive than it used to be, according to Kemp Strang senior associate, Nick Noonan.
Employers should think twice before trying to convince Fair Work Australia that voluntary overtime leaves workers "better off overall", say the authors of a Lander & Rogers bulletin.
