In Australia, a whistleblower in the private sector is entitled to make anonymous disclosures and be protected from any detrimental conduct resulting from that disclosure where they divulge...
As anticipated, on 8 April 2020, the Federal Parliament passed the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Act 2020 and related legislation which establishes the JobKeeper...
In its efforts to provide much needed relief to employers and employees from the financial impact of COVID-19, the Australian Government has announced the JobKeeper Payment scheme to support...
The Novel Coronavirus (COVID -19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan City, China. Many employers now face the question of how to respond to the unfolding outbreak and need to determine...
In the wake of the closely watched proceedings recently commenced by Israel Folau regarding the termination of his employment for his comments on social media, the right of a public sector employee...
Workplace investigations are becoming more common in the employment landscape. Australian courts have been required to scrutinise the extent to which an employer owes a duty to their employees.
The obligations of employers in relation to employee records have become more important under the recent changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) as a result of the Fair Work Amendment...
Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 will increase penalties available for breaches of workplace laws, and aim to strengthen the powers of the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Two recent cases have provided valuable guidance on the enforceability of restraint of trade obligations against former employees in contracts for the sale of a business. The cases make it clear...
In this article we look at some of the areas of law relevant to social media (intellectual property, privacy, media and defamation, consumer protection and employment, as well as continuous...
In the recent case of Richardson v Oracle Corporation Australia Pty Ltd [2013] FCA 102, the Federal Court highlighted the importance of employers having proper policies and training which reflect...
On 1 January 2012 the new Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) will come into effect along with similar legislation which is expected to come into effect next year in all States and Territories...
In the highly anticipated decision of Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker [2014] HCA 32 (10 September 2014), all five members of the High Court of Australia have held that there is no term of...
JWS represented Seven Network (Operations) Pty Limited (Seven) and its executive programmer John Stephens in successfully defending the Supreme Court proceedings brought against them by Network Ten...
On 27 June 2013, the Federal Government passed legislation to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The new laws are part of the second tranche of changes made to the FW Act from the Review Panel...
On 9 May 2013 the Coalition released its industrial relations policy (Policy). As the title suggests, in the Policy the Coalition has committed to improving the 'Fair Work Laws' while largely
On 6 December 2012 the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendments Act 2012 came into effect. The legislation imposes new obligations on employers in reporting employee and board gender...
The High Court of Australia...s decision in Kirk v Industrial Relations Commission; Kirk Group Holdings Pty Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales will have a significant impact on the way in...