Retailers baffled by job-crushing junior wage decision

The National Retail Association has today expressed its dismay at a job-crushing decision by the Fair Work Commission to...

The National Retail Association has today expressed its dismay at a job-crushing decision by the Fair Work Commission to increase the cost of providing work opportunities to young people. Junior pay rates At a time when the Federal Government has implemented multi-billion budget measures to encourage business owners to hire...

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COVID-19 Update | 16 August 2020

Further clarification surrounding SA COVID Marshals As announced on Friday, 14 August, the South Australian Government will require hospitality and...

Further clarification surrounding SA COVID Marshals As announced on Friday, 14 August, the South Australian Government will require hospitality and certain retail venues to have a COVID Marshall on premises from Friday, 21 August 2020. You must have a COVID Marshal if your business or activity is or involves any of the following: Hospitality: Any business...

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COVID-19 Update | 14 August 2020

"COVID Marshalls" to become mandatory in South Australia COVID marshalls will soon be required at licensed premises, cafes and food...

"COVID Marshalls" to become mandatory in South Australia COVID marshalls will soon be required at licensed premises, cafes and food courts, large stores including Supermarkets/retailers/hardware, gyms, freight distribution centres, shopping centres/precincts and places of worship. The marshalls will be specially trained to ensure venues don’t exceed capacity, physical distancing is maintained...

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COVID-19 Update | 10 August 2020

Metropolitan Melbourne food courts to stay closed  The Victorian Government has decided that as part of metropolitan Melbourne stage 4...

Metropolitan Melbourne food courts to stay closed  The Victorian Government has decided that as part of metropolitan Melbourne stage 4 lock downs, food courts in shopping centres are to remain closed. Despite the fact that food and drink businesses in metropolitan Melbourne can stay open for takeaway and delivery only, the...

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COVID-19 Update | Summary of Stage 4 Restrictions in Victoria

Can I continue to trade? Only some retail businesses are allowed to be open to the general public. Others are...

Can I continue to trade? Only some retail businesses are allowed to be open to the general public. Others are permitted to operate in a limited capacity, such as providing delivery services and ‘click and collect’ for online orders. If you have a warehouse or distribution centre that dispatches online...

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COVID-19 Update | 5 August 2020

Victorian Government introduces "Permitted Worker Permit" From 11:59pm Wednesday 5 August 2020, the Victorian Government is requiring the close down of...

Victorian Government introduces "Permitted Worker Permit" From 11:59pm Wednesday 5 August 2020, the Victorian Government is requiring the close down of almost all businesses in the state, with the exception of specifically permitted industries and businesses. Please see below for the National Retail Association document outlining affected businesses in metropolitan Melbourne. The Victorian Government...

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COVID-19 Update | 30 July 2020

Face masks to become mandatory across Victoria From 11:59pm on Sunday, 2 August all Victorian residents will be required to...

Face masks to become mandatory across Victoria From 11:59pm on Sunday, 2 August all Victorian residents will be required to wear face coverings whenever they leave their home. The Premier today addressed the media and urged people to practice social distancing and get tested. Likewise, from 11:59pm tonight, and in the...

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FWC finds the limits to JobKeeper stand downs

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission has, for the first time in the short...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission has, for the first time in the short life of the JobKeeper jurisdiction, tested exactly how far a JobKeeper stand down direction can go in reducing an employee’s hours. In a decision handed down earlier this week, Deputy President...

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Message from the CEO: 30 June 2020

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is currently considering an application by the SDA to reverse the final reduction to...

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is currently considering an application by the SDA to reverse the final reduction to Sunday penalty rates in the General Retail Industry Award 2010, due to take effect from 1 July 2020 (tomorrow). In addition to making a formal submission to the FWC opposing any...

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Groundhog Day comes early for struggling retailers

Struggling retailers will be hit with the Australian version of Groundhog Day on February 1 next year, when they...

Struggling retailers will be hit with the Australian version of Groundhog Day on February 1 next year, when they wake up to find all their concerns have again been ignored by the Fair Work Commission and they are once again confronted with the spectre of widespread business closures. Following today’s...

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No hibernation for the Fair Work Ombudsman: Record penalties secured for wage non-compliance

By Andrew Piper and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The pandemic hasn’t hindered the Fair Work Ombudsman’s (the FWO) efforts...

By Andrew Piper and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The pandemic hasn’t hindered the Fair Work Ombudsman’s (the FWO) efforts to investigate and prosecute wage non-compliance in the retail and fast food sectors. The FWO has recently secured record penalties against companies that have underpaid their workers and failed to...

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The essential guide to redundancy during COVID-19

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The unprecedented disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) has left many employers considering...

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The unprecedented disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) has left many employers considering their immediate options to reduce expenditure over the coming weeks and months. In most cases, substantial cost-savings may be able to be achieved by consulting with employees about reducing their hours...

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Fair Work Commission proceedings: Head in the sand, or head in the game?

By Andrew Piper and Alex Millman, NRA Legal Receiving notice of any legal proceedings is enough to make the blood...

By Andrew Piper and Alex Millman, NRA Legal Receiving notice of any legal proceedings is enough to make the blood run cold of most business owners and HR professionals. For many, the process of defending such an application can be time consuming and emotionally taxing.   While much work has been done...

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The essential guide to redundancy

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In the current economic climate, it is critical for businesses to constantly...

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In the current economic climate, it is critical for businesses to constantly identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce expenditure. While the prospect of redundancies is certainly not pleasant, they are often times unavoidable. Alongside the factors that necessitate a redundancy in the...

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If an employee gets high can we say goodbye? Not necessarily, says the FWC

By Andrew Piper and Alex Millman, NRA Legal Employers often spruik their ‘zero tolerance’ drug and alcohol policies when trumpeting...

By Andrew Piper and Alex Millman, NRA Legal Employers often spruik their ‘zero tolerance’ drug and alcohol policies when trumpeting their safety and workplace processes and cultures. However, the Fair Work Commission has also been promoting a ‘zero tolerance’ approach of its own towards unfair dismissals. In a recent decision by...

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Ten years of Fair Work: Closing out the decade

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal With the year almost over, it’s time to reflect on the lessons...

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal With the year almost over, it’s time to reflect on the lessons learned in 2019, and prepare for the start of a new decade. In January, we predicted that compliance would continue to be a major factor affecting retail businesses, however for...

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