Retailers slam Saturday penalty rate slug ahead of Christmas

The National Retail Association (NRA) has slammed the decision to slug Australia’s embattled retailers with a penalty rate rise...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has slammed the decision to slug Australia’s embattled retailers with a penalty rate rise on the eve of the Christmas trade period. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled to increase penalty rates by 25% for 350,000 casual retail employees who work on Saturday and...

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Top tips for engaging casual employees over Christmas

Written by Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal According to recent analysis by global job search platform Indeed, 67%...

Written by Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal According to recent analysis by global job search platform Indeed, 67% of Christmas job opportunities in Australia are created in the retail sector to help serve the Christmas shopping frenzy. Last year, Australians spent in excess of $26 billion during the month...

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Employer Facing Significant Operational Costs after Old Agreement Terminated

Written by Victoria Hansen, Senior Workplace Advisor, and Lindsay Carroll, Legal Practice Director In a decision made last week, the...

Written by Victoria Hansen, Senior Workplace Advisor, and Lindsay Carroll, Legal Practice Director In a decision made last week, the Fair Work Commission terminated the collective agreement of a yoghurt shop chain that had been in operation for nearly 14 years. This decision highlights how much of an impact termination...

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Employer wins right to have case reheard regarding proposed reduction of casual’s shifts

By Lindsay Carroll, Director and Sid Sidhu, Workplace Relations Advisor, NRA Legal Earlier in 2017, the Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’)...

By Lindsay Carroll, Director and Sid Sidhu, Workplace Relations Advisor, NRA Legal Earlier in 2017, the Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) determined that the City of Sydney RSL and Community Club had constructively dismissed a casual employee, when it denied the employee from working further “change box” shifts and reduced her...

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New Zealand Employment Law Changes

The following article is posted here for NRA members who operate in New Zealand. The article was originally published...

The following article is posted here for NRA members who operate in New Zealand. The article was originally published by NRA Partner, Positive People.  This year New Zealand retailers are expecting to see a significant shift in the employment legislation landscape, and recent announcements signal the start of these changes. The following changes...

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Part 4: Modern Award Series – Categories of employment

If you’ve been following our Modern Award Series, you should by now be certain when a Modern Award will...

If you’ve been following our Modern Award Series, you should by now be certain when a Modern Award will cover your employees, what Modern Award applies and how your employees will be classified under an applicable Modern Award. Following on from Part 3 of this series, it will be necessary...

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Part 2 of our Modern Award Series – Distinguishing amongst modern awards

As you would have seen in Part 1 of our Modern Award Series ‘How to work out which modern...

As you would have seen in Part 1 of our Modern Award Series ‘How to work out which modern awards apply in your business?’, it can be quite confusing working out which award has coverage over a business in the ‘food services’ industry: From the diagram above, you can see...

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How to work out which modern awards apply in your business

Part 1 of our Modern Award Series – How to work out which modern awards apply in your business By...

Part 1 of our Modern Award Series – How to work out which modern awards apply in your business By Alex Millman and Emma Treherne, NRA Legal With 122 modern awards covering most industries, it can sometimes be a mind-boggling exercise to work out which one applies to your business. The...

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Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays and trading hours

The NRA has compiled a fact sheet on the public holidays and trading hour restrictions for each State and Territory...

The NRA has compiled a fact sheet on the public holidays and trading hour restrictions for each State and Territory over this year’s Easter and ANZAC Day period. Are you aware of what public holiday entitlements apply to your employees? Are your employees obligated to work on public holidays? Do...

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Reducing casual shifts – what are the risks?

By Sid Sidhu, Workplace Relations Advisor, and Emma Treherne, Principal Workplace Relations Advisor, NRA Legal If my casual employees are...

By Sid Sidhu, Workplace Relations Advisor, and Emma Treherne, Principal Workplace Relations Advisor, NRA Legal If my casual employees are not guaranteed hours, can I reduce their shifts? Often employers believe that they can reduce the hours provided to a casual employee if they are, or have been, causing issues within...

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Have your say on industry skills needs

SkillsIQ is conducting a national survey to look at workforce and skills issues and gain your feedback. All stakeholders are...

SkillsIQ is conducting a national survey to look at workforce and skills issues and gain your feedback. All stakeholders are encouraged to complete the survey and have your say. The data collected will be collated and provided to the relevant Industry Reference Committees (IRCs) and used to inform the development...

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Overtime rates for retail and other industries, effective 1 Jan 2018

In July 2017, the Fair Work Commission determined that the: Fast Food Industry Award 2010; General Retail Industry Award...

In July 2017, the Fair Work Commission determined that the: Fast Food Industry Award 2010; General Retail Industry Award 2010; Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010; Restaurant Industry Award 2010; would be varied to extend overtime loadings to casual employees, not just permanent employees. On Friday 24 November 2017, the Commission...

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Policy Update: Boxing Day shopping here to stay in NSW

Boxing Day trade continues in NSW The NSW Government today announced it will legislate to allow Boxing Day trade to...

Boxing Day trade continues in NSW The NSW Government today announced it will legislate to allow Boxing Day trade to continue in all parts of NSW, in accordance with the findings of an independent review by Professor Percy Allan AM which considered feedback from retailers, employees and shoppers. NRA will update...

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The rise of affordable employee advocacy has changed the playing field

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Since the Fair Work Act appeared on the scene in 2009, the...

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Since the Fair Work Act appeared on the scene in 2009, the legal environment around employment law has shifted dramatically. Any person can be represented before the Fair Work Commission by a person acting as a ‘paid agent’. Whilst this is nothing new,...

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Disasters & staffing: what are your options?

By Ben Desir and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Our Queensland and New South Wales members are taking stock after being...

By Ben Desir and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Our Queensland and New South Wales members are taking stock after being lashed by Cyclone Debbie last week, with many still experiencing the aftermath with flooding and lack of power. When a natural disaster strikes, safety is the ultimate priority and other factors...

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Hanging onto Christmas Casuals: A Guide for Retailers

by Ben Desir, Workplace Advisor, NRA Legal How did you do? Did you manage the mad dash for last minute...

by Ben Desir, Workplace Advisor, NRA Legal How did you do? Did you manage the mad dash for last minute Christmas gifts? Chances are you brought on a number of casual members of staff to help deal with the Christmas rush. It’s also likely that a few of these casuals really...

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