On the 15th of July 2010, the Fair Work Ombudsman released a media statement identifying retail giant, Cotton On as failing to pay more than 3000 employees for attending training sessions and staff meetings outside of work hours.

The investigation and subsequent undertaking by Cotton On comes as a timely reminder to organisations in managing training and staff meeting times and to ensure that staff are appropriately paid in accordance with award and/or agreement requirements.Read more.

Helping Women avoid pregnancy discrimination

The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched a national campaign aimed at helping women avoid pregnancy discrimination at work. Read more in the member area.

Unions pursuing director over $2m in unpaid entitlements

Unions are using a little-known provision in the Fair Work Act to pursue the sole director of a collapsed company in a bid to secure $2 million of unpaid severance entitlements due to 57 redundant employees under the terms of their enterprise agreements. Read more.

National Minimum Wage Decision

Fair Work Australia has made its first minimum wage decision. This decision affects the national minimum wage, modern award rates of pay and rates of pay in certain transitional instruments.
The new rates of pay will take effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2010.

The national minimum wage order includes:

a national minimum wage of $569.90 per week or $15 per hour;
two special national minimum wages for award / agreement free employees with a disability; and
a casual loading for award / agreement free employees of 21 per cent

ACT Security Industry - Workers Compensation Audit

Members are advised that WorkSafe ACT is about to undertake a worker’s compensation audit of the security industry in the ACT. The aim of the audit is to ensure compliance with the legal requirements under the ACT Workers Compensation Act 1951. The audit will be undertaken throughout June/July 2010.

Worker’s Compensation Inspectors will either visit employers or write to them seeking copies of documentation which may include evidence of current workers compensation policies time and wages records, and information concerning sub contractors.

Please view the letter from Office of Regulatory Services.

Failing to deal with workplace bullying can be expensive!

Employers who ignore claims of bullying and/or harassment by employees do so at their peril. In a recent case a court ordered the employer to pay fines and damages totaling $330,000, giving employers a clear message that they must act to deal with these issues professionally and quickly. For all of those we hear about there are many others that are detrimental to morale, efficiency and profitability.

How to conduct a 'fair' workplace investigation out of an employee complaint

Often employers are faced with having to investigate a complaint from one employee about the behaviour of another. It may be an allegation of bullying, harassment or discrimination. Whatever the allegation, employers need to deal with it properly and with due process.

Independent Contractors – Everything you need to know to minimise your risk

The Australian Federal Government has released a 76 page booklet titled “Independent Contractors – The Essential Handbook” together with an excellent on-line “Contractor Decision Tool” which is designed to assist workers and businesses determine whether they have a genuine independent contractor relationship, or whether they are at risk of being found to have entered into a “sham contracting arrangement”.

Find out more....

Fair Work Ombudsman releases report into security industry

ASIAL has welcomed the release today of the Fair Work Ombudsman’s report into the security industry. Among the report’s finding include that only 51% of employers were complying with the Fair Work Act 2009.

View the Report

View ASIAL Media Statement

Fair Work decision gives casuals access to unfair dismissal remedies

Fair Work Australia has clarified the circumstances in which casual employees can qualify for protection from unfair dismissal under the new Act. Read more.

Changes to the Accident Compensation Act 1985

Effective 24 March 2010, the Victorian Parliament has passed the Accident Compensation Amendment Bill 2009. The Bill contains reforms to the Accident Compensation Act 1985 and associated legislation.

WorkSafe has issued a summary which explains the changes and identifies when the changes take effect.

The High Court of Australia’s has overturned a decision of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission in OH&S convictions.

The High Court has overturned the conviction of a NSW farm owner in an appeal against a decision by the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission’s arising out of the death of an employees in a vehicle accident. Read more...

Making a Pregnant Worker Part Time Discriminatory

Businesses should be very careful dealing with requests for changes of hours of work, ensuring that no employee is discriminated against. Read more about this topic by logging into the member area.

Employer fined $20,000 for underpayments

Employers face heavy fines for failure to meet their statutory responsibilities to employees – ignorance is not an acceptable excuse in Court

An employer who for six years underpaid a casual employee and failed to provide payslips or keep proper records for superannuation purposes has been ordered to pay a $22,200 penalty.

The employee had been a Casual between 2002 and her resignation in 2008.

Following a Fair Work Ombudsman investigation, the employer admitted to paying the employee below the minimum wage, failing to pay a district allowance, and not providing her with payslips or meeting other administrative requirements for the majority of the six-year period.

After attempting to argue it had given the employee food and drinks, used furniture and loans worth $23,000 – including issuing an invoice to the employee for that amount – the employer paid the 25-year old employee $24,560.20 in back wages.

In a Federal Magistrates Court hearing on penalty, Federal Magistrate Janet Terry was presented with evidence that the director and manager of the employer had a poor command of English, that this was their first business and they did not realize they were underpaying the employee.

Federal Magistrate Terry also took into account the small size of the business, absence of any past contraventions and the fact it had paid the wages it owed the employee.

However, she said, found the penalty should reflect that the director and manager had been "reckless in the extreme" in failing to make inquiries about their obligations as employers "in circumstances where they had never run a business before and intended to set up business in a country with whose laws they were not familiar".

There was also a strong need for specific and general deterrence, she said. Federal Magistrate Terry ordered the employer to pay penalties of $10,000 each for the failure to pay the minimum wage and district allowance, and $1,100 each for failing to provide pay slips and superannuation paperwork.

ATO Urges Crack Down on Sham Contractor Arrangements

There are 1 million contractors in Australia and a recent Australian Tax Office (ATO) audit found that 84% breached tax rules. This has prompted the ATO to call on the Federal Government to crack down on sham contractor arrangements. As if to prove the point, in December 2009 a Sydney real estate company and its director were fined almost $30,000 for underpaying a salesperson more than $20,000 as a result of sham contracting . IT workers, professional consultants and construction workers are those likely to be hit by any tightening of contractor rules.

Important court decision concerning casual staff

A contract miner who disputed his status as a Casual employee has been awarded access to annual leave entitlements in a recent decision of the Federal Magistrate’s Court.

The case is important for the security industry, because the court found that despite clearly being engaged as a casual, the worker's pre-set defined shift roster was "stable, organised" and had "a certainty of working hours" more indicative of permanent full-time employment.

View the Fact Sheet

Small businesses 'unprepared' for new rules

David Griffiths from Complispace discusses the adaptation potential of small businesses to new family friendly work laws, which will be in place from January.

Watch the report

Go to other Industry News

Disclaimer

Note: The information provided above is for convenient reference only. ASIAL and Chris Delaney & Associates Pty Ltd provide this information on the basis that it is not to be relied upon in any or all cases, as the circumstances in each matter are specific. Accordingly, we provide this information for general reference only, but we advise you to take no action without prior reference to an Employee Relations professional. ASIAL members can contact Chris Delaney by emailing ir@asial.com.au