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Implied term of trust and confidence confirmed by appeal court
Introduction In a significant recent decision, a full court of the Federal Court of Australia has determined that the implied contractual term of mutual trust and confidence between an employer and an employee has received a sufficient degree of recognition both in England and Australia so as to support its application in Australian employment contracts. Background Mr Barker was employed as an executive manager with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) under a written contract of employment. Mr Barker had been employed by the CBA for 27 years. The CBA had in place various policies relating to the bank's employment practices, including a Redundancy, Redeployment, Retrenchment and Outplacement Policy (the Policy). On 2 March 2009, Mr Barker was provided with a letter confirming his current position was redundant and the CBA's preference was to, in consultation with him, redeploy him wit...
23 August 2013Amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act
Introduction to Changes A recent amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA) has introduced both new terminology and a corresponding broadening of categories of discrimination that are unlawful. The changes took effect on 1 August 2013. The amendments make it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. Same-sex couples are also now protected from discrimination under a new definition entitled 'marital or relationship status'. The introduction of these new protections will particularly apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexuals, gender diverse and intersex people. However, these descriptors are no longer specified, but are rather incorporated into the new categories. It is important to note that there are some exemptions to the new laws. Complaints jurisdiction People covered by these new categories will now b...
22 August 2013Latest amendments to Fair Work Act pass through parliament
The latest amendments arising from the Fair Work Act Review passed through parliament earlier this month. The following article summarises the main changes and their effective date. AMENDMENT PARENTAL LEAVE Increase concurrent parental leave from 3 weeks to 8 weeks. Concurrent leave may be taken in separate periods of at least 2 weeks each occasion. An employee's entitlement to unpaid parental leave will not be reduced by any amount of unpaid special maternity leave taken by an eligible employee. Effective date: On a date to be fixed on or before 29.12.13 FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS Extends criteria of employees who may request flexible working arrangements to include parents of a child who is of school age, carers, employees with a disability, employees over 55 years of age, employees experiencing or, providing support for an immediate family member experiencing violence from a member of their fam...
19 August 2013