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Offsetting over award payments is not an automatic right
National Workplace Lawyers is frequently asked by clients whether they can off-set award and other entitlements against higher wage or salary payments made to employees. In New Image Photographics Pty Ltd v Fair Work Ombudsman [2013] FCA 1385, Federal Court, on appeal from the Federal Magistrates Court (as it then was) was required to consider, among other matters, whether the employer could off-set wage entitlements against other payments made to an employee. Background Ms Keen was employed as a casual telemarketer by New Image Photographics Pty Ltd (New Image). During the period of Ms Keen's employment, she was not paid the casual loading set out in the award in addition to her ordinary hourly rate of pay. However for a significant portion of her employment she was paid above the ordinary hourly rate of pay applicable to her role. With the passing of time, the over award amount paid to her fell below the minimum ...
26 February 2014Employer's hard line policy on porn does not always justify dismissal
Introduction A recent Full Bench decision of the Fair Work Commission held that an employer's hard line policy relating to pornographic material will not always justify dismissal of an employee. It also confirmed that the principles which apply to dismissal for misconduct also apply to misconduct relating to accessing, sending, receiving and storage of pornographic material in the workplace. National Workplace Lawyers explains further below. Background Australia Post installed a filter system on their computer software which monitored email transmissions in and out of its IT system and flagged emails with attachments likely to be pornographic. As a result, several breaches of Australia Post's email policy regarding the use of its IT system to send, store or receive pornographic material were identified. Forty employees were disciplined as a result of a breach of the policy. The discipline ranged from warnings to termination of em...
30 January 2014Round up on Fair Work changes starting 1 January 2014
The first day of January 2014 saw several new amendments under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) come into effect. The following article briefly summarises some of those amendments and their implications for employers. Fair Work Commission's anti-bullying powers commence The new anti bullying laws commenced on 1 January 2014. The Fair Work Commission (the FWC) now has the power to make orders to stop bullying in the workplace. The FWC is required to commence dealing with bullying complaints by workers within 14 days of the complaint being made. Employers should ensure they have effective workplace policies and procedures in place to deal with workplace bullying complaints. National Workplace Lawyers has designed the Workplace Bullying Employer Assist Package to assist employers with the introduction of this law and to manage complaints, more information is available at this link. For a brief overview of t...
20 January 2014