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Contract of Employment - Post Employment Restraints
In recent years it has become increasingly common for employers to impose post employment restraint obligations on employees which seek to place limitations on a departing employee’s opportunities for future employment. Despite the increase in popularity, there are still many employers and employees who believe that a post employment restraint in a contract of employment is not worth the paper it is written on. The view that is often taken here is that such a restraint is unenforceable because it constitutes an unfair restriction on a departing employee’s right to make a living through the exercise of the employee’s trade or profession. There is now an abundance of case law which makes it clear that Courts are willing to enforce post employment restraint obligations against former employees. Whilst the right of an employee to exercise their trade or profession will always be of paramount concern, the Courts will balance this concern with the right ...
1 September 2011Increase to High Income Threshold
Each year on 1 July, the high income threshold under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) is indexed in accordance with the Regulations to the Act. This year the high income threshold increased to $118,100 effective 1 July 2011. The high income threshold is relevant to: whether a person is protected from unfair dismissal; whether, where the employer has given a guarantee of annual earnings that exceeds the high income threshold, a modern award applies to the person; and the maximum compensation payable for an unfair dismissal claim. Calculating the High Income Threshold Earnings for the purpose of calculating the high income threshold include the employee’s wages, amounts applied or dealt with in any way on the employee’s behalf or as the employee directs (e.g. employee voluntary superannuation contributions) and the agreed money value of non-monetary benefits (e.g. company car, computer or mobile phone...
11 August 2011Annual Wage Review 2011
On Friday 3 June 2011, the Full Bench of Fair Work Australia handed down its Annual Wage Review decision. For the first time in 20 years, the Federal wage-fixing Tribunal handed down a percentage instead of a flat dollar increase. The increase to modern award minimum wages is 3.4 percent, rounded to the nearest 10 cents, effective on the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2011. The Full Bench has awarded the same percentage increase to all transitional Australian Pay and Classification Scales and Division 2B State reference transitional awards. This will affect amongst others, employers in industries which in accordance with the transitional arrangements in the relevant modern award, are still only required to pay pre-modern award rates to their employees. Employers in the social, community and disability services industry are an example of employers affected by the decision to increase transitional instruments. The national minimum wage was also i...
18 June 2011