Employment law legislation update

Written by Alex Millman Members will recall from previous news alerts that there are several pieces of legislation amending the...

Written by Alex Millman Members will recall from previous news alerts that there are several pieces of legislation amending the Fair Work Act currently waiting for the attention of the Senate before they can become law. Foremost among these is the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017, which aims...

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Lack of written warnings leads to unfair dismissal ruling

by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild Ashley Duddington v Mario and Clara Enterprises Pty Ltd and Morgan Trading Pty Ltd...

by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild Ashley Duddington v Mario and Clara Enterprises Pty Ltd and Morgan Trading Pty Ltd FWC 2958 Small business employers (employing less than 15 employees) are reminded by a recent case before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to use the Small Business Dismissal Code (the...

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Significant breach of policy used to justify termination

by Sid Sidhu and Angela Szczepanski, NRA Legal Teresa Margaret Murphy v Banana Coast Community Credit Union Ltd T/A BCU...

by Sid Sidhu and Angela Szczepanski, NRA Legal Teresa Margaret Murphy v Banana Coast Community Credit Union Ltd T/A BCU FWC 2688 An employee who worked as a store supervisor for Banana Coast Community Credit Union (BCU) has had her application for relief from unfair dismissal, dismissed by the Fair...

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Award reviews set to be abolished

Today, as the last order of business, Parliament will resume debate of the Fair Work Amendment (Repeal of 4...

Today, as the last order of business, Parliament will resume debate of the Fair Work Amendment (Repeal of 4 Yearly Review and Other Measures) Bill 2017 (Review Bill). With the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 (Vulnerable Workers Bill) attracting a lot of attention, the Review Bill has...

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Message from the CEO: 6 June 2017

The Fair Work Commission has made two important decisions affecting retailers in the last 24 hours, and it’s worth...

The Fair Work Commission has made two important decisions affecting retailers in the last 24 hours, and it’s worth considering how commentators and elected officials respond to each one. The first issue, yesterday, was the Commission’s announcement on the timing of the adjustment of Sunday penalty rates. Your feedback to...

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Unfair dismissal case actually “genuine redundancy”

by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild, NRA legal Case study: Laura Wrzoskiewicz v Easy Payroll Perth Pty Ltd FWC...

by Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild, NRA legal Case study: Laura Wrzoskiewicz v Easy Payroll Perth Pty Ltd FWC 2469 A recent case before the Fair Work Commission highlights the meaning of “genuine redundancy” and when an employee will be unable to substantiate an unfair dismissal claim. In this case, a...

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Fancy law firms fail to impress Commission

by Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in the 1962...

by Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in the 1962 classic, To Kill a Mockingbird (Universal Pictures) As a business, there is a great temptation that when faced with litigation to stick with what you know. Doubtless you will have engaged...

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Beechworth Bakery EBA overturned

Written by Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal After rigorous action by the Shop, Distributive and Applied Employees Association...

Written by Alex Millman and Troy Wild, NRA Legal After rigorous action by the Shop, Distributive and Applied Employees Association (SDA), bakery chain Beechworth Bakery has had the approval of its enterprise bargaining agreement in December 2016 overturned by a decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission. Throughout the...

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Former VP of Fair Work Commission shares insight with retailers

This week saw the successful launch of the National Retail Association's State of the Retail Nation forums, proudly sponsored by...

This week saw the successful launch of the National Retail Association's State of the Retail Nation forums, proudly sponsored by REST Industry Super. Retailers from across multiple sectors met to hear from industry professionals and to share insight at breakfast briefings in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, plus an online webinar. NRA CEO...

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Message from the CEO: 27 March 2017

In everything that your association does for the retail industry, we have the interests of our members, and all...

In everything that your association does for the retail industry, we have the interests of our members, and all retailers, as our top priority.  This has been particularly true throughout the Fair Work Commission hearings in relation to Sunday penalty rates, and it remains true as that issue continues...

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Retailers call for respect for independent umpire, as Labor moves to overrule FWC penalty rates decision

MEDIA RELEASE The National Retail Association (NRA) has warned that Labor’s private members bill, introduced to parliament today to block...

MEDIA RELEASE The National Retail Association (NRA) has warned that Labor’s private members bill, introduced to parliament today to block the Fair Work Commission’s reduction in Sunday penalty rates, sets a dangerous precedent for all independent ruling bodies across the nation. NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said that leveraging political interests to...

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Message from the CEO: 20 March 2017

This week, the Federal Opposition has indicated it will move a private members bill to retrospectively legislate against any...

This week, the Federal Opposition has indicated it will move a private members bill to retrospectively legislate against any cuts to penalty rates, after the independent Fair Work Commission’s ruling of a reduction in five out of the 122 modern awards. While it was an entirely independent decision, made by...

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Message from the CEO: 6 March 2017

Last week, the NRA was concerned to hear the Federal Government announce that they would be cracking down on...

Last week, the NRA was concerned to hear the Federal Government announce that they would be cracking down on so-called ‘dodgy franchisees’ through the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017, which currently sits before the federal parliament. The legislation seeks to make franchisors more responsible for underpayment of...

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Have your say: Who should be appointed to the FWC?

As you would be aware, over the past few months three presidential-level members have resigned from the Fair Work...

As you would be aware, over the past few months three presidential-level members have resigned from the Fair Work Commission (FWC). Vice-President Graeme Watson, Senior Deputy President Matthew O’Callaghan and Senior Deputy President Peter Richards have all resigned or taken early retirement within the last year. The loss of these...

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Message from the CEO: 27 February 2017

As you are all aware, last week Fair Work Commission President Justice Iain Ross handed down the Commission’s verdict...

As you are all aware, last week Fair Work Commission President Justice Iain Ross handed down the Commission’s verdict on Sunday penalty rates across a range of industries, including retail and fast food. The NRA is supportive of this decision on behalf of our members. However we are concerned by the...

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Rushed redundancies fall flat

by Meaghan Spencer and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Staples Australia Pty Ltd has come under fire after Fair Work Commissioner...

by Meaghan Spencer and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Staples Australia Pty Ltd has come under fire after Fair Work Commissioner Ian Cambridge determined that the company had an “unduly hasty and largely tokenistic” approach to meeting its redundancy obligations. In July last year, Staples tried to address a one million dollar...

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