The union's at the gate Tuesday, 10 July 2007 Many small and medium-sized employers operate in an environment where few if any employees are members of trade unions. More...
Computers - a boxful of liability? Tuesday, 26 June 2007 We all know that time is money for owners and managers of SMEs and tasks like implementing HR policies can swallow up a lot of time. But it's worth considering the downside of not having proper employment policies in place, and computers provide a perfect example of how it can all go wrong. More...
Uncertainty surrounds fairness test Tuesday, 19 June 2007 What has been revealed so far about the Federal Government's new Fairness Test leaves unanswered many questions about how the test will operate in practice. Amendments being made to the Fairness Test bill as it passes through the Parliament this week are also giving rise to more angst for SMEs. More...
Fairness Test may spell end of AWAs Tuesday, 5 June 2007 The Federal Government has now disclosed the details of the new "Fairness Test" to be applied to all AWAs and collective workplace agreements, and employers should be warned: AWAs may no longer be worth the trouble. More...
Bullying can be financially painful Tuesday, 22 May 2007 Last week a victim of a schoolyard bully in New South Wales was awarded almost $1 million in damages because the state education system failed in its duty to protect him from the bullying behaviour. The decision is a salient warning for employers. More...
What's this week's IR Policy? Tuesday, 10 May 2007 Recent policy changes by both the Federal Government and the Opposition to workplace policies and laws are driving small business to distraction. More...
Recruiting's old chestnut Tuesday, 1 May 2007 A recent case against airline Virgin Blue highlights how companies need to be very careful to avoid age discrimination in recruiting staff – and in appointing staff who do the recruitment. More...
Work references can be fraught with danger Tuesday, 10 April 2007 Sometimes you will find yourself in a difficult position when former employees ask for a reference, and it will not always be because there may have been a dispute leading up to parting company. More...
Get your bookwork in order Tuesday, 3 April 2007 It's just a little over twelve months since the Federal Government's WorkChoices legislation came into effect and it's still a hot topic for discussion. Just last week, the new regulations about keeping employee records came into effect. More...
Driving industrial action down Tuesday, 27 March 2007 One year after it commenced on 27 March 2006, the WorkChoices legislation would certainly appear to have made its mark in reducing the amount of industrial action taken by unions. More...
Can post-employment restraints protect your business? Tuesday, 20 March 2007 Including a post employment restraint clause in an employee's contract is often not the magic bullet that will stop key employees defecting to the competition but, properly done, they can help. More...
Labor's IR policy revealed Tuesday, 13 March 2007 The Federal Opposition has released its draft industrial relations policy for the upcoming federal election. The policy will be voted on at Labor's National Conference in late April. More...
Are contracts opening the way for unfair dismissal claims? Tuesday, 6 March 2007 A recent decision of the New South Wales Supreme Court has again raised the question of whether employees, including senior executives, might have implied contractual rights to make "unfair dismissal" claims. More...
Feds get tough on contractors 20 February 2007 WorkChoices grabbed the spotlight before Christmas, but equally important changes to the law covering independent contractors went through the Parliament at the same time. More...
Redundancy for 'Operational reasons' clarified 13 February 2007 How does an employer demonstrate genuine operational reasons for a dismissal? The full bench of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) has clarified this exclusion from the unfair dismissal jurisdiction of the Workplace Relations Act. More...
WorkChoices: Stuck with employee records? 6 February 2007 The raft of significant changes that came with the Federal Government's WorkChoices legislation delivered some seemingly innocuous administrative requirements that have caused consternation for employers. More...
