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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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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Legal Beagles | Episode 6: Bullying in the workplace

A topic very near and dear to the Legal Beagles hearts.  Cal and Al return this week with a topic causing...

A topic very near and dear to the Legal Beagles hearts.  Cal and Al return this week with a topic causing some stress for well-known brands - workplace bullying (aka exhibit one for Cal's claim to the Fair Work Commission). But the topic of workplace bullying is no laughing matter. It...

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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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Legal Beagles | Episode 5: Does this wage look right to you?

Does this wage look right to you? The Legal Beagles, Cal and Al, return for 2020 with a brand...

Does this wage look right to you? The Legal Beagles, Cal and Al, return for 2020 with a brand new analysis on the wage theft (or non-compliance) scandals that have rocked the headlines. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they made any New Years resolutions to be nicer to each...

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Legal Beagles | Episode 4: Top 10 Dismissals of 2019

2019 is drawing to a close, so the Legal Beagles decided to go over their favourite (and most infamous)...

2019 is drawing to a close, so the Legal Beagles decided to go over their favourite (and most infamous) dismissal decisions of the year. From family squabbles to extremely bad behaviour, it's a wild ride from start to finish. Like, comment and subscribe to our National Retail Association YouTube channel...

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The fruits of forethought: good planning gives employers victory in Fair Work Commission

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal All too often, tales from the Fair Work Commission reveal the woes...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal All too often, tales from the Fair Work Commission reveal the woes of what happens when employers are too trigger-happy in sacking their employees. When employers lose unfair dismissal claims, it is usually because they have jumped the gun and dismissed the employee...

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Changes to work arrangements – who’s to blame?

Written by Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a recent application for relief from unfair dismissal, Commissioner Cribb...

Written by Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a recent application for relief from unfair dismissal, Commissioner Cribb considered circumstances where an employee requested changes to her working arrangements, and then resigned her employment when the employer was unable to accommodate those changes. The employee argued that she was...

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What is the ‘gig economy’ and how does it affect me?

By Sooraj Sidhu, NRA Legal You might have heard in recent months the term ‘gig economy’ being thrown around by...

By Sooraj Sidhu, NRA Legal You might have heard in recent months the term ‘gig economy’ being thrown around by politicians, lawyers and leaders in workplace relations. The term, which has become buzzword of the century, refers to the burgeoning number of workers engaged in short-term or temporary positions, either through...

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Fair Work Commission announces action plan to assist small business employers

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Yesterday, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) president Iain Ross responded to reports...

By Sooraj Sidhu and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Yesterday, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) president Iain Ross responded to reports commissioned last year, which urged the establishment of a ‘Small Business Division’ of the Fair Work Commission and the reduction of red tape associated with unfair dismissal and adverse action...

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Out-of-hours misconduct justified dismissal

By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled that a worker who...

By Victoria Hansen and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled that a worker who threw a full glass of beer over the heads of his colleagues at an official company Christmas party was justifiably dismissed. This is a significant decision regarding the dismissal of...

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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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“Loaded rates” of pay scrutinised

Fair Work Commission to scrutinise “loaded rates” of pay within Enterprise Agreements By Sid Sidhu, NRA Legal Following the recent win...

Fair Work Commission to scrutinise “loaded rates” of pay within Enterprise Agreements By Sid Sidhu, NRA Legal Following the recent win for retailers and the Federal Court’s decision to uphold the penalty rate cuts across five Modern Awards, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has invited peak union...

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Message from the CEO: 17 October 2017

The reporting over the past week on the penalty rates case has been fascinating to say the least. In...

The reporting over the past week on the penalty rates case has been fascinating to say the least. In many ways, it has illustrated how deeply Australian’s misconceptions have been about the issue, but more importantly, how easy it has been for those with a vested interest to heighten...

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Vulnerable Workers Bill amendments: what you need to know

On Tuesday 5 September 2017, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 was passed with amendments by...

On Tuesday 5 September 2017, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 was passed with amendments by both houses of Parliament. The Bill was given Royal Assent by the Governor-General on 14 September 2017, becoming an Act (the VW Act) which will re-write parts of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW...

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FWC rejects SDA application for blood donor leave

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal In mid-July this year, the Fair Work Commission heard an application by...

By Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal In mid-July this year, the Fair Work Commission heard an application by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association to include provision for paid blood donor leave in the retail, fast food, and hair and beauty awards. NRA, along with other industry groups,...

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