Workplace Law News and Articles
Sometimes the line between an employee and an independent contractor can be blurred. The Uber decision recently made headlines when the Fair Work Commission found that an Uber driver was an independent contractor and not an employee. This will not be the last case to consider whether a person is an employee or a contractor, […]
If you have revenue greater than $50m, assets greater than $25m, or more than 100 staff, then you may need a whistleblower policy. Read on for more details. According to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, a whistleblower is an “insider within an organisation who reports misconduct, or dishonest or illegal activity that has occurred […]
In NSW, media companies are now “publishers” on Facebook. They were not until last month, when Justice Rothman handed down his decision against News Corp in the Dylan Voller case (now on appeal). The media companies deny that they are publishers on Facebook because they don’t create or control posts on their websites, so they […]
Employers should be alert to current worker entitlements: Unfair Dismissal High Income Threshold; Compensation Cap for Unfair Dismissal; Redundancy Tax Free Amount; Employment Termination Payments (ETP) Lower Tax Rate Cap; Superannuation Maximum Contribution Base; and Civil Penalties for Breaches of the Fair Work Act. Unfair Dismissal High Income Threshold From 1 July 2019, the High […]
The issue of whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor is relevant for many business risks. These include the risk of employee-type claims for unfair dismissal or award wages, of the obligation to remit PAYG withholding tax amounts to the ATO, and of claims by revenue collectors in the states and territories for […]
Sham Contracting Update – Class Actions A new class of class actions is hitting the Australian courts and creating headaches for putative employers. The Federal Court has four class actions now where employee entitlements are being claimed for contracted workers using the sham contracting and general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act. It was […]
Poaching staff from competitors is not uncommon, but can be risky. Employers must be sure that new employees are not acting in breach of obligations to their former employers. In a recent High Court case, the new employer was ordered to disgorge the whole of its business, taken from the old employer, and to pay […]
Casuals can get permanent entitlements. In a recent case an employer was ordered to pay annual leave for a casual employee. If the worker looks permanent, the worker probably is. If you have casual employees, you may be at risk – read on: The Federal Court has ordered that a casual employee be paid annual […]
Just when you thought discovering a data breach within your organisation was already a headache – such as a lost company computer or an employee disclosing unauthorised information – from 22 February 2018 this could become a migraine as you are now obliged to notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and any […]
In this interesting case an oppressor shareholder was ordered to buy out the oppressed shareholder. Equal shareholders were deadlocked. One Shareholder, the plaintiff, asked the court that the other be required to sell its interest or buy the plaintiff’s interest. The defendant had the daily management of the company. The court found oppression and ordered […]