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Summary of Fair Work Act Review
In December 2011, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations - Bill Shorten announced the appointment of a three member panel (the Panel) to review the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Panel members included Dr John Edwards (Reserve Bank Board Member), the Honourable Michael Moore (former Federal Court Judge), and Professor Emeritus Ron McCallum (workplace relations and legal academic). The purpose of the Panel was to review the Act and make recommendations regarding areas in which it may be improved. Over recent months the Panel has received, considered and evaluated submissions received by it culminating in the release of a report providing 53 recommendations. The following article provides a snapshot of the Panel’s major recommendations and their implications for employers should the recommendations be adopted into amendments to the Act. Although no amendments have been made to the Act at this stage, this article provides an insight into how t...
14 August 2012Court Echos the Importance of Careful Drafting...
A recent decision of the Federal Magistrates Court reinforces the potential consequences of failing to ensure clear and careful drafting in workplace documents such as enterprise agreements, remuneration programs and other similar documents. Background In February 1999, Visy Paper Pty Ltd (Visy) implemented a 60 week rostering system commenced at its Smithfield site in NSW (the Agreement). The employees were paid an annualised hourly rate which included paid shift and overtime penalties and annual leave loading. These components were converted into an hourly amount per week, and added to the ordinary weekly hours of work (a total of 52.95 hours per week). Employees were paid the 52.95 hours per week regardless of what hours the employee was rostered to work that week. Under the Agreement, to deter employees taking annual leave on weekends, employees who took annual leave days during a weekend shift forfeited two days annual leave instead of one. The double d...
1 August 2012Further Model Codes of Practice Now Approved
As part of work health and safety harmonisation, Safe Work Australia is implementing a staged release of model Codes of Practice for states and territories to adopt and implement. Codes of Practice are practical guides to assist with the standards required under workplace health and safety laws and do not hold the same legal implications as legislation or regulations. A person or a person conducting a business or undertaking cannot be prosecuted for failing to adhere to a Code of Practice. A Code of Practice is however, admissible in Court as evidence of what should be known about hazards, risks or control measures and may be used to determine what is "reasonably practicable" in the circumstances. Inspectors may also refer to Codes of Practice when issuing improvement or prohibition notices or as a means of remedying a contravention. The following Codes or Practice have been previously released: Confined spaces; Hazardous manual tasks; How...
1 August 2012