![]() Claiming ignorance will be no defence! The Work Choices legislation has fundamentally changed the Australian industrial law landscape. There are many things that you probably don't even know about the Work Choices changes. In some cases, failure to comply with the new obligations will expose your organisation, and even you personally, to financial penalties. The maximum penalty for a company that breaches its minimum wage obligation is $33,000 - and that's just for starters! In May 2007 the Melbourne Magistrates' Court fined a security company $12,000 for underpaying its workers. The Magistrate said, "I do not consider that ignorance of [minimum wage] obligations is a matter to which I should give much weight. The obligations imposed … are serious."
The Federal Government is keen to make an example of defaulting employers. Since March 2006, the Federal Government agency responsible for ensuring compliance with the minimum wage obligations (Workplace Ombudsman) has recovered over $14.2 million in underpayments and secured the imposition of nearly $400,000 in penalties on employers. New Industrial Relations laws - how they affect you, your business and your employees Understanding your legal obligations as an employer can be difficult when the legislative framework is constantly changing. Federal and State governments are making and amending legislation in accordance with divergent political agendas, and courts and tribunals are interpreting many of these laws for the first time, setting new precedents every week. Employers who fail to comply with the new record-keeping requirements will be liable for a penalty of $5,500. Find out if you're exposed by turning to the Special Record-Keeping Report on page 5 Does your business comply with the new Fairness Test? New rules brought in on May 7, 2007 mean you could be breaking the law with regards to penalty rates, overtime, shift work, rest breaks, incentive-based payments and bonuses, annual leave loadings and the observance and payment of public holidays in the way you make workplace agreements. Find out if you're complying with the new rules by reading on... A word from the editor Finally! A simple resource that unravels the complexities of new Industrial Relations Laws! Dear Reader, Keeping up to date with labour law developments is one of the biggest challenges facing Australian managers and businesses. Without a doubt, the government's Work Choices legislation represents the most radical redirection of Australian labour law since the conciliation and arbitration system was introduced in1904. The amendments vastly reduce the role of awards and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, and increase the role of enterprise bargaining. Work Choices sets up a new system for determining the minimum wage, and reduces the dismissal protection for employees.
Problem is, not only is the new legislation often vague and open to misinterpretation, it is constantly changing, with the courts setting new precedents and requiring you, the employer, to constantly adapt your policies to comply. Even something that used to be simple - working out an employee's minimum wage entitlement - now depends on such things as the 'legal personality' of the employer... what instrument regulated the wage immediately before Work Choices commenced on 27 March 2006... when the employer first started employing people… and when the employee started with the employer. Labour law made easy - we've done all the hard work for you A lot of my clients have indicated that they are waiting for a simple guide with all the answers in plain English explanations. With that in mind, we have developed The Employment Law Practical Handbook: a hands-on guide to labour law written in layman's terms to help you protect your business and stay on the right side of the law. We've done all the hard work for you. By following our step-by-step instructions, numerous checklists, sample forms, handy tips and suggestions, you can rest assured that you have covered all the bases. Labour experts at your fingertips More than 10 professional labour experts who serve on our specialist panel of writers. Find out who they are on page 14. How will The Employment Law Practical Handbook help you? Here is the difference this information will make to your everyday relations with your staff:
Yours sincerely,![]() Charles Power Editor-in-Chief Employment Law - Practical Handbook Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Useful checklists to ensure your legal obligations are always covered Simple checklists so you can see which laws affect YOUR business By Charles Power Partner, Holding Redlich In The Employment Law Practical Handbook you'll find step-by-step guides that help an employer determine the statutory obligations it owes employees. They cover the following issues: Awards
Workplace Agreements
Check your obligations to provide minimum employment conditionsThe pre-existing sources of information about statutory minima are no longer reliable. For example, when Federal Magistrate Mowbray fined a Canberra restaurant $4,600 in January 2007, his Honour said that the poor advice given to the defendant by its industry association warranted a bigger fine (Mason v Harrington Pty Ltd). The Employment Law Practical Handbook will also provide you with sample contracts covering:
Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 The Fairness Test and your organisation What is the Fairness Test, and how does it relate to your employees? Contrary to what you might think, not everyone has to comply with the new Fairness Test. But what is it? What do YOU need to do? By Kelly Godfrey Senior Associate & Notary Public, Australian Business Lawyers The Fairness Test The Fairness Test for workplace agreements means that protected award conditions, such as penalty rates and public holiday pay, cannot be traded off without fair compensation. The Fairness Test doesn't apply to everyone In fact, the Fairness Test only applies:
(b) in the case of an AWA, where the employee is paid less than $75,000 pa; (c) if the workplace agreement covers work performed in an award or National Agreement Preserving a State Award (NAPSA) covered industry; and (d) where the agreement modifies or excludes one or more of the "protected award conditions". What are protected award conditions? "Protected award conditions" include:
Will my agreement comply with the new Fairness Test? When you lodge your agreement, the Workplace Authority Director will check whether your agreement provides "fair compensation" to your employee(s) for the modification or exclusion of one or more of the protected award conditions which would otherwise apply. The test is slightly different depending on whether you have a collective agreement or an AWA. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will guide you through the compliance process. What if your agreement fails the Fairness Test? The Workplace Authority Director will notify you in writing and also provide you with advice on how you can vary the agreement so that it will pass the test. If you don't respond within 14 days of receiving this notice, the underlying award or industrial instrument will continue to apply despite your agreement. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will assist you to fix your agreement if it doesn't comply. Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Record-keeping requirements for Employers Don't get fined $5,500 for failing to keep the right records! How to check if you comply with employee record-keeping
requirements. . . By Charles Power Partner, Holding Redlich Check your compliance with employee record-keeping requirementsThe Work Choices legislation imposes employee record-keeping obligations on employers. When the Work Choices legislation was introduced, the legislation provided employers with 12 months to revise their record-keeping systems in compliance with these new requirements. Since 27 March 2007, non-complying employers are now liable to prosecution by the Office of Workplace Services Workplace Ombudsman. In cases of proven breaches employers are now liable to a penalty of $5,500. Employers need to identify those employees for whom they must keep records of total hours worked and daily start and finish times and put in place systems, such as timesheet requirements, with respect to employees for whom such records must be kept. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will give you a checklist to enable you to verify compliance with record-keeping requirements Tips for record-keeping
Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Why not give us a no-obligation try? 8 reasons why you should take a 14-day risk-free look at The Employment Law Practical Handbook 1 - If labour laws change, you'll know about it instantly The Employment Law Practical Handbook is constantly monitored and updated. You'll receive updates (priced at $1.29 per page and consisting of approximately 115 pages) on a regular basis when any labour laws change or important judgments are handed down by the courts. Our experts will give you simple and practical interpretations of any new legislation and cases so you know what the changes mean for you. We'll also cover any new topics and issues that have never been discussed before. Thanks to the Handbook you'll never be surprised by any amendment and you'll stay on the cutting edge of lR developments! 2 - It's like having a panel of qualified labour law experts on-hand 24/7 Our authors are top class labour law experts. Who better to advise you than those who have decades of experience helping employers from a multitude of industries? What's more, each piece of information is verified by 2 independent consultants so you can rely 100% on the quality of advice given.
3 - If you have any labour questions you can always email our experts - for FREE!As a paid-up subscriber, you can email basic queries to our panel of experts, and receive an answer. This service alone can save you thousands in lawyer's fees. And you get it free with your subscription. 4 - Our sample contracts, letters, policies and forms will save you time and money With the handbook you get: contracts of employment, a warning letter, a dismissal letter, a contractor agreement, performance evaluation checklists, a disciplinary policy, a sample notification of a disciplinary hearing, a substance abuse policy, retrenchment letters, a disability audit, a grievance form, an Internet and email user policy and sample AWA agreements. 5 - Practical tools and simple guidelines make applying labour laws in your company fast and easy All our information is clear and easy-to-follow. You'll get:
Every two weeks you will receive the Workplace Bulletin as part of your handbook to update you on important labour dates and events. You can also read other subscribers' questions answered by our panel of experts. 7 - Reply within 14 days and receive a just-published FREE report If you reply quickly, we'll rush you the brand new report "How to Stop Stress Claims Costing Your Company Money" (see more below). It's a groudbreaking publication that helps you deal with all kinds of workplace stress-related issues. And it's yours, FREE! 8 - 14 risk-free days test-run the Handbook Order your copy of the The Employment Law Practical Handbook for a 14 day trial period and check for yourself how useful it is. After these 14 days you can continue to use it by simply paying the invoice sent with the handbook. Or, you can return it to us and we'll clear the bill.
Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Recruitment advertising - are you discriminating without even knowing it? An insider's guide to discriminatory advertising Are your recruitment ads lawful? If not, your ignorance could cost you! By Kelly Godfrey Senior Associate & Notary Public, Australian Business Lawyers Are you breaking the law with recruitment ads? Did you know you could be unwittingly breaking the law every time you advertise a position? If your recruitment ads are discriminatory, legal action may be taken against you and your business. If this legal action is successful, you may be required to pay an amount of damages to the unsuccessful job applicant and pay their legal costs, in addition to a fine. You may also be ordered to publish an apology or a retraction (or both) or be required to change your recruitment practices. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will help you ensure your recruitment advertising is always 100% legal. Are your recruitment ads discriminatory? Here's how to find out. . . It may seem a little absurd, but even seemingly innocent words used in your recruitment ads can be considered under law to be discriminatory. This can be the case if they discourage some people from applying for the positions on unlawful ground because of their sex, race, age, disability etc.
The Employment Law Practical Handbook can assist you to write lawful recruitment ads for your business. Are there any exceptions to or exemptions from the rule? Yes there are! There are both exceptions and exemptions to the prohibition on discriminatory job ads. There are a range of exceptions listed in both State and Federal EEO laws, which make it lawful to advertise for a particular type of person. For example, where there is a genuine and relevant job requirement that the job be performed by a particular person. So it is important to check if one applies. For instance, it generally would not be discriminatory to:
The Employment Law Practical Handbook can assist you to determine whether an exception applies and if not, help you apply for an exemption. Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Hiring and firing - know the facts so you're always covered How to deal with employee misconduct without breaking the law... Effectively dealing with employee misconduct can be a legal minefield. Unless you know the guidelines - and stick to them. By Charles Power Partner, Holding Redlich If you, the employer, dismiss an employee wrongfully for misconduct, you'll be exposed to claims for significant compensation in courts and tribunals. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will provide a simple checklist designed to mitigate your legal risk in disciplining and dismissing employees for misconduct. The Handbook will include templates to be used to give warnings and notice of termination, including a Conduct Issue Report and a Final Warning Notice. Can you be accused of 'Constructive Dismissal'? Here's how to find out. . . An employee who has resigned in circumstances where the employee believed he or she had no choice but to resign may allege 'constructive dismissal'. Examples of conduct which might 'force' an employee to resign include:
What are the best LEGAL ways to tackle poor work performance? Inappropriate performance management does not simply attract legal exposure for an employer under unfair dismissal laws. Consider the following real life cases in which employees have challenged steps taken by an employer to improve their performance:
Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Hiring and firing - correct procedures that mean you're always in the clear Is your business EXEMPT from unfair dismissal claims? Effectively dealing with employee misconduct can be a legal minefield. Unless you know the guidelines - and stick to them. By Charles Power Partner, Holding Redlich The coverage of federal unfair dismissal laws has been reduced by Work Choices. It's prudent to know how the new unfair dismissal laws apply to your employees. You can do that by following this Unfair Dismissal Exemptions Checklist:
WATCH OUT when writing a bad reference for an ex-employee! Generally speaking, there is no positive obligation to provide a reference following termination. If a reference is to be given, it should be honest. If a terminated employee was not a good employee, then care should be exercised in providing a reference. A negative reference may, in certain circumstances, lead to an action in defamation. A former employer may also owe a duty to an ex-employee to exercise reasonable care in the giving of the reference. There will be circumstances in which the giving of a reference may not be appropriate. In these cases the former employee should be provided instead with a statement of service, setting out the period of employment and the duties performed. Reference checks should be answered by reference to the terms of the statement of service. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will help you develop management guidelines regarding the issuing of references and statements of service and provide templates to enable you to create these documents. Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Privacy and Confidentiality: Safeguarding your Business Is your organisation breaching
employee privacy?
(This could be a very costly mistake!) By Charles Power Partner, Holding Redlich The Employment Law Practical Handbook will lift the lid on new privacy laws that protect employees. Never has this information been more important. Are you illegally monitoring your employee's emails? If your organisation does not have an e-mail and internet usage policy and has not publicised that policy to its employees, you may be breaching privacy legislation. This is especially the case if your organisation monitors or blocks e-mails or internet usage. While the Federal Privacy Act does not create privacy obligations for employee records, a policy may be required to bring private e-mails within that exemption. For example, in NSW, legislation makes it an offence to block or monitor e-mails in the absence of an appropriate policy being communicated to staff. An employer committing this offence is liable to a fine of up to $5,500. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will assist you to develop and implement a legally-compliant e-mail and internet usage policy by providing a step-by-step guide and template documents. Are your trade secrets secure?
(Ex-employees could take them to your competitors!) When you entrust an employee with commercially valuable information or invest in the employee's customer connection or goodwill, you expose your business to the risk of a competitor gaining a market advantage if the employee defects to a new employer. There are legal safeguards that can protect your business. You'll find them outlined on The Employment Law Practical Handbook. What is truly confidential in your business? You may be surprised when you find out! The Employment Law Practical Handbook will include a template confidentiality policy and guide you in adapting this for your business.
Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Occupational Health and Safety Issues Watch out for workplace bullying...
Unless you take proper measures, you could be prosecuted! By Charles Power Partner, Holding Redlich Health and safety agencies now consider workplace bullying to be an Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) issue such that failure to deal with bullying can expose an employer to prosecution. Nearly all OHS statutes in Australia contain provisions that can make directors and officers personally liable if they permit contraventions by their organisation. An employer faces exposure to liability for workplace bullying when it:
Workplace Stress: Identifying the signs and dealing with them The Employment Law Practical Handbook will provide a practical guide to dealing with these issues in a manner compliant with health and safety laws. Claim your FREE report, "How to Stop Stress Claims Costing Your Company Money". See Page 7. Sexual Harassment: Will your organisation be held responsible? An employer will be held responsible for sexual harassment in the workplace unless it can establish that it took reasonable precautions to prevent the conduct. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will provide a best practice checklist for an employer to defend vicarious liability, including a guide to adopting a comprehensive Equal Opportunity (EO) policy and process for resolution of complaints.
Don't get named and shamed for failing to implement affirmative action measures for women! If you have 100 or more employees the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) requires you to establish a workplace program to remove barriers preventing women entering and advancing in your organisation. In November 2006 the EOWA published the names of 13 non-compliant organisations. When developing a workplace program, it is compulsory to consult with employees to identify the issues relating to employment matters that the employer needs to address to achieve equal opportunity for women in the employer's workplace. For example, parental leave entitlements, carer's leave and flexible working arrangements. The Employment Law Practical Handbook will provide a best practice guide to designing a workplace program that will meet the requirements of the EOWA Act. Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 Your experts 12 labour experts at your fingertips! Charles Power BA, Ec (Hons) LLB (Monash) Editor-in-Chief of Port Phillip Publishing's Employment Law Practical Handbook. Partner and head of the employment law department of Holding Redlich. Charles' Expertise: Charles has a strong practice representing employers in all aspects of employment and industrial law and is accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a Workplace Relations Specialist. He is a member of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Employment & Labour Relations Law, University of Melbourne and the Australian Human Resources Institute. Charles is a former associate to a Senior Deputy President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and a former senior adviser to a federal government minister. He was the joint winner of Industrial Arbitration Prize in 1992. Charles' fellow contributors include such experts as: Jonathan Kirkwood BA, LLB (Hons) (Sydney) Senior Associate in the law firm Holding Redlich practising in employment and industrial relations law. Prior to joining Holding Redlich, Jonathan was an Associate to Justice Michael Moore at the Federal Court of Australia and an Adviser to the Federal Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations. Tim Davey BA, LLB (Hons) (Latrobe) Solicitor in the law firm Holding Redlich practising in employment and industrial relations law. Tim has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from Latrobe University and is the winner of the Supreme Court Prize awarded to the best student completing the final year of the law program. Elizabeth Price BA, LLB, (ANU) Solicitor in the law firm, Holding Redlich, practising in employment and industrial relations law. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Laws degree from Australian National University and is the winner of the Prize for Labour Law for being the best graduating student in that subject in her year. Elizabeth is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria's Employment Law Committee. Kelly Godfrey BSc LLB (ANU) LLM (Syd) Senior Associate & Notary Public Australian Business Lawyers Accredited Trainer Kelly advises on all aspects of employment law and industrial relations law at both the State and Federal level. Kelly is an accredited trainer and conducts training to clients on workplace relations matters. Kelly is the Industrial Law and Relations Section editor of the Australian Business Law Review and Chair of the NSW Young Lawyers Employment and Industrial Law Committee. Kelly is also a member of: the NSW Law Society's Employment Law and Workplace Committees; the Society of Notaries of New South Wales Inc; Workplace Relations; the National Safety Council of Australia and the NSW Industrial Relations Society. Garry Dircks M.Bus (I.R), Grad.Dip.Bus (I.R), RMIT Just Relations - Consultants Garry has been heavily involved in Industrial Relations since 1979. Prior to starting Just Relations Consultants in 1998, Garry worked as a union organiser for the National Union of Workers. Garry has also worked extensively in advocacy and representation in industrial tribunals and equal opportunity tribunals. Frank Kennedy Employee Relations Adviser Industries include electrical contracting, building and construction, healthcare, aviation and transport. Employers include Corporations, Employer Associations, Governments and extensive work with international organisations. Denise Hall BT&D, MIMC aCE talentNET Executive Director - Business Deirdre Gruiters Mmgt, AIMM aCE talentNET Corporate Talent Agent aCE talentNET is a corporate Talent Agent; an Organisational Development consultancy, with a major focus on the engagement of consultants and contractors for all stages of an Organisational Development project. Dale Wiese CSM Behaviours At Work - Principal Consultant Specialises in Equal Opportunity/Discrimination, Workplace Behaviours, Workplace investigations and Employer Advocacy. Samantha Easton-Cavanagh BA, Bus (Monash) CAHRI, MIMC, AIMM Balancing Business - Principal Consultant Over 10 years experience in HR and is currently a certified practitioner at the Australian Human Resources Institute. Samantha has worked with small, medium and large companies in areas such as recruitment, training, performance management, strategic development, employee & industrial relations, terminations, policy development, systems reviews and occupational health & safety. Lisa Ryan BA, MCom (Hons) (University of Auckland) Ryan Gately - Director Lisa Ryan is a qualified Human Resources professional with over eight years experience. A certified member of the Australian Human Resources Institute, Lisa has established a boutique human resources management consulting firm; Ryan Gately Human Capital Management, which specialises in providing strategic human resources advice to a range of clients across various industries. Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219 what you will receive ![]() Review The Employment Law Practical Handbook FREE for the next 14 days Here's what you'll receive when you arrange your 14 FREE trial. . .
PLUS! 2 additional services for subscribers: 1. A labour helpdesk available to all paid-up subscribers, where we answer your quick labour questions by email 2. An information archive where you can access all our past articles online Order within 14 days and claim your FREE gift! Arrange your trial today and I'll rush you the just-published report, How to Stop Stress Claims Costing Your Company Money. It's an excellent new resource that helps you deal with issues of workplace stress, bullying, discrimination and correct performance management. The Employment Law Practical Handbook is perfect for: Employment Equity Managers, Employee Relations Managers, HR Directors, HR Managers, HR Officers, HR Practitioners, Industrial Relations Managers, Industrial Relations Consultants, Labour Consultants, Legal Advisors, Legal Practitioners, Owners of Companies, Personnel Managers, Skills Development Managers and Team Leaders. Alternatively you can call 1300 782 911 or fax your order to (03) 9558 2219
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