Search our resources for helpful information about employment law matters and tips and insights from a WorkLegal solicitor.
For advice about your specific situation, you can contact us to discuss how we can assist you.
Latest News
Proposed laws for restricting the use of post-employment restraints
The Fair Work Commission has released draft legislation for discussion that proposes restrictions on the use of post-employment restraints. Importantly the new laws would not limit or apply to: restraints on former employees soliciting clients, or restraints in...
Upcoming changes to the SCHADS Award
The Fair Work Commission has made changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award including: a new classification structure, changes to rules about progression between pay points, and changes to minimum pay rates. Changes in October 2027 Most...
Speedy dismissal for insulting midnight messages was unfair
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that an engineering business unfairly dismissed an engineer for offensive messages about his manager sent at midnight in a chat group with co-workers. The Facts The employee was employed as a project engineer working...
Contract Negotiation & Disputes
Recent Videos on Contract Negotiation & Disputes
Recent Guides on Contract Negotiation & Disputes
Recent Articles on Contract Negotiation & Disputes
The employer’s positive duty to prevent sexual harassment at work Christmas Parties
Christmas parties are a welcome occasion to celebrate the close of a working year. They can also have higher risks of unwanted behaviour. Employers should be aware that Christmas parties are work events and they have a positive duty to take “reasonable and...
4-day week flexible work application refused for insufficient evidence
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application by a Costco employee for an order permitting her to work a 4-day week because of insufficient evidence. The Facts The employer was a full-time maintenance assistant working 5 days per week in...
Disability Support Worker fairly dismissed for leaving his shift and changing a support plan
In a recent decision the FWC has found that a disability carer was fairly dismissed for leaving his shift contrary to the participant’s support plan, and for reducing the ratio of carers for the participant without the employer’s approval. The case is a reminder of...
Another Reason to Check Your Employment Contract
A recent case* raised the question of where the line is to be drawn between the activities an employee is permitted to undertake in preparing for future competition with an employer and those that are not permitted, and whether the employee crossed that line. The case...
Be Aware of Important Changes to the SCHADS Award
Employers of staff covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (SCHADS Award) need to understand the extensive changes to the award effective from 1 July 2022. This bulletin summarises the more important changes. Minimum Payment...
Important – New Casual Employment Laws Explained
Employees, business owners and managers need to understand the implications of amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 that came into effect on Saturday March 2021, changing workplace rights and obligations for casual employees. ..
Wage Theft a Criminal Offence in Queensland
Queensland’s new wages theft laws have serious consequences for Queensland employers that fail to pay employee wages. On 14 September 2020 the definition of stealing in the Queensland Criminal Code was amended…
Employment Restraints
Recent Guides on Employment Restraints
Recent Articles on Employment Restraints
Damages of $279,000 for financial planner breach of employment restraint
In a recent decision the Federal Court has ordered damages against a financial planner who solicited clients of his former employer in breach of a restraint clause in his employment agreement. The Facts A financial planner was employed by a financial planning business...
Not reading contract clause no barrier to employer enforcing employment restraint
In a recent decision the Victorian Supreme Court has ordered an injunction until final hearing to restrain a former state manager from soliciting clients of his former employer, even though the manager said he had not read the employment restraint terms in his...
Employment Restraint Clause Worth the Paper it was Written On
In a recent decision the Federal Court ordered an injunction until final hearing to restrain a former insurance account manager from soliciting the clients of his former employer, and to not use confidential client contacts and client lists that were obtained in the...
Health Practitioners
Recent Articles on Health Practitioners
4-day week flexible work application refused for insufficient evidence
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application by a Costco employee for an order permitting her to work a 4-day week because of insufficient evidence. The Facts The employer was a full-time maintenance assistant working 5 days per week in...
Online medical certificate called into question
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has upheld the dismissal of a solicitor who alleged he was unfit to work even though he produced an online medical certificate for one of his days of absence. The Facts A solicitor was absent from work for 2 days, a Friday...
High earner ineligible to apply for unfair dismissal
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that a mining employee was ineligible to apply for unfair dismissal due to his high rate of earnings, even though he was not receiving all of those earnings when dismissed. The Facts A mining employee in a...
Short term flexibility was no dismissal…
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission dismissed an application for general protections involving dismissal by an employee who resigned after being required to make flexible work requests every 3 months to care for his wife. The Facts The employee was a...
Change to non-Nurse position not an acceptable alternative
An employer's application to reduce redundancy entitlements to nil for a nurse who refused an alternative occupational health technician role at higher pay, has been refused in a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission. The Facts The For Health Group made an...
Taking Care when Referring to Cosmetic Injectables in Advertising…Not Just for Beauty Industry Businesses
Many beauty industry businesses will be affected by clarification by the Therapeutic Goods Administration about permitted language when advertising cosmetic injectables. Although the letter was directed to the beauty industry it has implications for all health and...
What to do when you receive a complaint
At some time in their career many excellent healthcare professionals will receive a letter from AHPRA, or another health complaints body, notifying a patient complaint. After the initial shock and disappointment, what should you do? Just as important, what shouldn’t...
The Queensland Payroll Tax Amnesty… an Admission of Guilt, or a Lifeboat?
Meeting all the legal and regulatory standards that apply to operating a medical business, as well as maintaining high standards of clinical care, is a double responsibility that few medical practice owners may feel fully equipped for. Without suitable professional...
Understanding Voluntary Assisted Dying and Implications for Practitioners
The French philosopher Edgar Morin said, “The certainty of death and the uncertainty of the hour of death is a source of grief throughout our life.” Today, modern medicine has various modalities by which end of life does not have to be confined to pain and suffering...
Newton’s Laws of Motion and Medical Record Keeping
Medical Record-keeping Matters Medical record-keeping really matters. We recently assisted a health practitioner to respond to a patient’s complaint to AHPRA. The complaint was fairly serious, alleging incorrect advice about, medications, adverse long-term...
Redundancy Entitlements
Recent Guides on Redundancy Entitlements
Recent Articles on Redundancy Entitlements
Failure to Consult Stymies Employer’s Defence of an Unfair Dismissal Claim
A recent case in the Fair Work Commission, Mohammad Aimal v Battery Energy Power Solutions Pty Ltd (U2020/2520) examined the fairness of the employer’s redundancy process…
Reputation Management
Recent Videos on Reputation Management
Workplace Investigations
Recent Guides on Workplace Investigations
Recent Articles on Workplace Investigations
The employer’s positive duty to prevent sexual harassment at work Christmas Parties
Christmas parties are a welcome occasion to celebrate the close of a working year. They can also have higher risks of unwanted behaviour. Employers should be aware that Christmas parties are work events and they have a positive duty to take “reasonable and...
4-day week flexible work application refused for insufficient evidence
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application by a Costco employee for an order permitting her to work a 4-day week because of insufficient evidence. The Facts The employer was a full-time maintenance assistant working 5 days per week in...
Dismissal unfair where not at fault for $200,000 lost gold
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has found that a mining company unfairly dismissed an inexperienced mineworker who was involved in a mix up resulting in the loss of $200,000 in gold. The Facts The employee was employed as a pit technician in the geology...
Unfair dismissal for unfounded allegation of sleeping at work
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has reinstated a sugar refinery employee to her position, finding that there was insufficient evidence of alleged sleeping at work and she was not given an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The Facts The employee...
Not discrimination where disability was unknown to the employer
In a recent decision the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has dismissed a complaint of unlawful disability discrimination and ordered costs against the applicant, finding that the employer was unaware of the disability, had no unreasonable requirements, and could...
Importance of confidentiality obligations reaffirmed
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission emphasised the importance of confidentiality obligations in dismissing an application for unfair dismissal by a manager who emailed commercial confidential information to his personal email address when he was under...
How Not to Manage a Complaint of Sexual Harassment
In a recent decision the Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal ordered Della Rosa Fresh Foods, a pizza and ready meal manufacturing company, to pay $53,200 to a former employee that it victimised by forcing her to take leave and change roles after she complained...
The Fair Work Commission highlights the perils for employers in failing to communicate effectively in grievance situations
A recent case highlights the importance of employers communicating effectively with their employees who have made workplace grievances. In Yelda v Sydney Water various failures by the employer to communicate with Ms Yelda were factors in the Fair Work Commission’s...
Payroll tax and Medical Practices – Implications of Thomas and Naaz
The decision in Thomas and Naaz has significant financial implications for many medical practices and allied health practices. Some Background A common practice structure is that the practitioner provides medical services to their patients and receives administration...
BHP’s failed vaccine mandate – what does it mean for other workplaces?
The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has found that BHP’s direction to workers, requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of entry to BHP workplaces, was not lawful and reasonable. What does this ruling mean for other workplaces that are considering to...
Workplace Protections
Recent Guides on Workplace Protections
Recent Articles on Workplace Protections
Proposed laws for restricting the use of post-employment restraints
The Fair Work Commission has released draft legislation for discussion that proposes restrictions on the use of post-employment restraints. Importantly the new laws would not limit or apply to: restraints on former employees soliciting clients, or restraints in...
Upcoming changes to the SCHADS Award
The Fair Work Commission has made changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award including: a new classification structure, changes to rules about progression between pay points, and changes to minimum pay rates. Changes in October 2027 Most...
Speedy dismissal for insulting midnight messages was unfair
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that an engineering business unfairly dismissed an engineer for offensive messages about his manager sent at midnight in a chat group with co-workers. The Facts The employee was employed as a project engineer working...
What isn’t workplace bullying
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission easily found that behaviour a worker complained about did not amount to workplace bullying. The Facts The employee had applied for an order to stop bullying, alleging that his employer and 3 co-workers engaged in...
Managing wearable technology – how far can an employer go in managing it?
Our previous articles have explored some of the risks for employers of personal wearable technology in the workplace and how employers can consider managing them. A recent decision by the Fair Work Commission gives helpful insight into how far an employer can go in...
Wearable technology – what about recording in the workplace?
Our previous article explained that wearable technology such as AI-assisted sunglasses is here and workplaces need to consider how to optimise its benefits and manage its risks. Of particular concern to many employers is the functionality of wearable AI for audio and...
Wearable technology – is it ok in the workplace?
Wearable technology such as AI-assisted sunglasses has come a long way since Maxwell Smart’s boot phone! It has, or may soon have, the capability for: visual and audio recording, facial recognition, identifying web-based information about the facially recognised...
Unfair dismissal for hasty termination during mediation process
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that an aged care business unfairly dismissed a senior cook for allegedly refusing to attend a mediation for addressing workplace conflict with her manager. The Facts The employee was employed as a cook at the...
Fair dismissal of electronically tracked delivery driver
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that Australia Post fairly dismissed a delivery driver based on telemetric tracking data of the driver’s deliveries. The Facts The employee was a long-serving motorcycle delivery driver for Australia Post. Australia...
Fair dismissal for uncooperative, long-term absent, employee
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that Monash Health fairly dismissed a long-term absent coordinator who refused to cooperate with requests to provide medical information for assessing if adjustments could be made for a return to his position. The...
Search our resources for helpful information about employment law matters and tips and insights from a WorkLegal solicitor.
For advice about your specific situation, you can contact us to discuss how we can assist you.
Latest News
Proposed laws for restricting the use of post-employment restraints
The Fair Work Commission has released draft legislation for discussion that proposes restrictions on the use of post-employment restraints. Importantly the new laws would not limit or apply to: restraints on former employees soliciting clients, or restraints in...
Upcoming changes to the SCHADS Award
The Fair Work Commission has made changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award including: a new classification structure, changes to rules about progression between pay points, and changes to minimum pay rates. Changes in October 2027 Most...
Speedy dismissal for insulting midnight messages was unfair
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that an engineering business unfairly dismissed an engineer for offensive messages about his manager sent at midnight in a chat group with co-workers. The Facts The employee was employed as a project engineer working...
Contract Negotiation & Disputes
Recent Videos on Contract Negotiation & Disputes
Recent Guides on Contract Negotiation & Disputes
Recent Articles on Contract Negotiation & Disputes
The employer’s positive duty to prevent sexual harassment at work Christmas Parties
Christmas parties are a welcome occasion to celebrate the close of a working year. They can also have higher risks of unwanted behaviour. Employers should be aware that Christmas parties are work events and they have a positive duty to take “reasonable and...
4-day week flexible work application refused for insufficient evidence
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application by a Costco employee for an order permitting her to work a 4-day week because of insufficient evidence. The Facts The employer was a full-time maintenance assistant working 5 days per week in...
Disability Support Worker fairly dismissed for leaving his shift and changing a support plan
In a recent decision the FWC has found that a disability carer was fairly dismissed for leaving his shift contrary to the participant’s support plan, and for reducing the ratio of carers for the participant without the employer’s approval. The case is a reminder of...
Another Reason to Check Your Employment Contract
A recent case* raised the question of where the line is to be drawn between the activities an employee is permitted to undertake in preparing for future competition with an employer and those that are not permitted, and whether the employee crossed that line. The case...
Be Aware of Important Changes to the SCHADS Award
Employers of staff covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (SCHADS Award) need to understand the extensive changes to the award effective from 1 July 2022. This bulletin summarises the more important changes. Minimum Payment...
Important – New Casual Employment Laws Explained
Employees, business owners and managers need to understand the implications of amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 that came into effect on Saturday March 2021, changing workplace rights and obligations for casual employees. ..
Wage Theft a Criminal Offence in Queensland
Queensland’s new wages theft laws have serious consequences for Queensland employers that fail to pay employee wages. On 14 September 2020 the definition of stealing in the Queensland Criminal Code was amended…
Employment Restraints
Recent Guides on Employment Restraints
Recent Articles on Employment Restraints
Damages of $279,000 for financial planner breach of employment restraint
In a recent decision the Federal Court has ordered damages against a financial planner who solicited clients of his former employer in breach of a restraint clause in his employment agreement. The Facts A financial planner was employed by a financial planning business...
Not reading contract clause no barrier to employer enforcing employment restraint
In a recent decision the Victorian Supreme Court has ordered an injunction until final hearing to restrain a former state manager from soliciting clients of his former employer, even though the manager said he had not read the employment restraint terms in his...
Employment Restraint Clause Worth the Paper it was Written On
In a recent decision the Federal Court ordered an injunction until final hearing to restrain a former insurance account manager from soliciting the clients of his former employer, and to not use confidential client contacts and client lists that were obtained in the...
Health Practitioners
Recent Articles on Health Practitioners
4-day week flexible work application refused for insufficient evidence
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application by a Costco employee for an order permitting her to work a 4-day week because of insufficient evidence. The Facts The employer was a full-time maintenance assistant working 5 days per week in...
Online medical certificate called into question
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has upheld the dismissal of a solicitor who alleged he was unfit to work even though he produced an online medical certificate for one of his days of absence. The Facts A solicitor was absent from work for 2 days, a Friday...
High earner ineligible to apply for unfair dismissal
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that a mining employee was ineligible to apply for unfair dismissal due to his high rate of earnings, even though he was not receiving all of those earnings when dismissed. The Facts A mining employee in a...
Short term flexibility was no dismissal…
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission dismissed an application for general protections involving dismissal by an employee who resigned after being required to make flexible work requests every 3 months to care for his wife. The Facts The employee was a...
Change to non-Nurse position not an acceptable alternative
An employer's application to reduce redundancy entitlements to nil for a nurse who refused an alternative occupational health technician role at higher pay, has been refused in a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission. The Facts The For Health Group made an...
Taking Care when Referring to Cosmetic Injectables in Advertising…Not Just for Beauty Industry Businesses
Many beauty industry businesses will be affected by clarification by the Therapeutic Goods Administration about permitted language when advertising cosmetic injectables. Although the letter was directed to the beauty industry it has implications for all health and...
What to do when you receive a complaint
At some time in their career many excellent healthcare professionals will receive a letter from AHPRA, or another health complaints body, notifying a patient complaint. After the initial shock and disappointment, what should you do? Just as important, what shouldn’t...
The Queensland Payroll Tax Amnesty… an Admission of Guilt, or a Lifeboat?
Meeting all the legal and regulatory standards that apply to operating a medical business, as well as maintaining high standards of clinical care, is a double responsibility that few medical practice owners may feel fully equipped for. Without suitable professional...
Understanding Voluntary Assisted Dying and Implications for Practitioners
The French philosopher Edgar Morin said, “The certainty of death and the uncertainty of the hour of death is a source of grief throughout our life.” Today, modern medicine has various modalities by which end of life does not have to be confined to pain and suffering...
Newton’s Laws of Motion and Medical Record Keeping
Medical Record-keeping Matters Medical record-keeping really matters. We recently assisted a health practitioner to respond to a patient’s complaint to AHPRA. The complaint was fairly serious, alleging incorrect advice about, medications, adverse long-term...
Redundancy Entitlements
Recent Guides on Redundancy Entitlements
Recent Articles on Redundancy Entitlements
Failure to Consult Stymies Employer’s Defence of an Unfair Dismissal Claim
A recent case in the Fair Work Commission, Mohammad Aimal v Battery Energy Power Solutions Pty Ltd (U2020/2520) examined the fairness of the employer’s redundancy process…
Reputation Management
Recent Videos on Reputation Management
Workplace Investigations
Recent Guides on Workplace Investigations
Recent Articles on Workplace Investigations
The employer’s positive duty to prevent sexual harassment at work Christmas Parties
Christmas parties are a welcome occasion to celebrate the close of a working year. They can also have higher risks of unwanted behaviour. Employers should be aware that Christmas parties are work events and they have a positive duty to take “reasonable and...
4-day week flexible work application refused for insufficient evidence
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application by a Costco employee for an order permitting her to work a 4-day week because of insufficient evidence. The Facts The employer was a full-time maintenance assistant working 5 days per week in...
Dismissal unfair where not at fault for $200,000 lost gold
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has found that a mining company unfairly dismissed an inexperienced mineworker who was involved in a mix up resulting in the loss of $200,000 in gold. The Facts The employee was employed as a pit technician in the geology...
Unfair dismissal for unfounded allegation of sleeping at work
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has reinstated a sugar refinery employee to her position, finding that there was insufficient evidence of alleged sleeping at work and she was not given an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The Facts The employee...
Not discrimination where disability was unknown to the employer
In a recent decision the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has dismissed a complaint of unlawful disability discrimination and ordered costs against the applicant, finding that the employer was unaware of the disability, had no unreasonable requirements, and could...
Importance of confidentiality obligations reaffirmed
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission emphasised the importance of confidentiality obligations in dismissing an application for unfair dismissal by a manager who emailed commercial confidential information to his personal email address when he was under...
How Not to Manage a Complaint of Sexual Harassment
In a recent decision the Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal ordered Della Rosa Fresh Foods, a pizza and ready meal manufacturing company, to pay $53,200 to a former employee that it victimised by forcing her to take leave and change roles after she complained...
The Fair Work Commission highlights the perils for employers in failing to communicate effectively in grievance situations
A recent case highlights the importance of employers communicating effectively with their employees who have made workplace grievances. In Yelda v Sydney Water various failures by the employer to communicate with Ms Yelda were factors in the Fair Work Commission’s...
Payroll tax and Medical Practices – Implications of Thomas and Naaz
The decision in Thomas and Naaz has significant financial implications for many medical practices and allied health practices. Some Background A common practice structure is that the practitioner provides medical services to their patients and receives administration...
BHP’s failed vaccine mandate – what does it mean for other workplaces?
The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has found that BHP’s direction to workers, requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of entry to BHP workplaces, was not lawful and reasonable. What does this ruling mean for other workplaces that are considering to...
Workplace Protections
Recent Guides on Workplace Protections
Recent Articles on Workplace Protections
Proposed laws for restricting the use of post-employment restraints
The Fair Work Commission has released draft legislation for discussion that proposes restrictions on the use of post-employment restraints. Importantly the new laws would not limit or apply to: restraints on former employees soliciting clients, or restraints in...
Upcoming changes to the SCHADS Award
The Fair Work Commission has made changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award including: a new classification structure, changes to rules about progression between pay points, and changes to minimum pay rates. Changes in October 2027 Most...
Speedy dismissal for insulting midnight messages was unfair
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that an engineering business unfairly dismissed an engineer for offensive messages about his manager sent at midnight in a chat group with co-workers. The Facts The employee was employed as a project engineer working...
What isn’t workplace bullying
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission easily found that behaviour a worker complained about did not amount to workplace bullying. The Facts The employee had applied for an order to stop bullying, alleging that his employer and 3 co-workers engaged in...
Managing wearable technology – how far can an employer go in managing it?
Our previous articles have explored some of the risks for employers of personal wearable technology in the workplace and how employers can consider managing them. A recent decision by the Fair Work Commission gives helpful insight into how far an employer can go in...
Wearable technology – what about recording in the workplace?
Our previous article explained that wearable technology such as AI-assisted sunglasses is here and workplaces need to consider how to optimise its benefits and manage its risks. Of particular concern to many employers is the functionality of wearable AI for audio and...
Wearable technology – is it ok in the workplace?
Wearable technology such as AI-assisted sunglasses has come a long way since Maxwell Smart’s boot phone! It has, or may soon have, the capability for: visual and audio recording, facial recognition, identifying web-based information about the facially recognised...
Unfair dismissal for hasty termination during mediation process
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that an aged care business unfairly dismissed a senior cook for allegedly refusing to attend a mediation for addressing workplace conflict with her manager. The Facts The employee was employed as a cook at the...
Fair dismissal of electronically tracked delivery driver
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that Australia Post fairly dismissed a delivery driver based on telemetric tracking data of the driver’s deliveries. The Facts The employee was a long-serving motorcycle delivery driver for Australia Post. Australia...
Fair dismissal for uncooperative, long-term absent, employee
In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission found that Monash Health fairly dismissed a long-term absent coordinator who refused to cooperate with requests to provide medical information for assessing if adjustments could be made for a return to his position. The...