Banning non-competes: the proposed reforms go much further than employers may expect
Australia’s current restraint laws are portrayed by the Government as anti-competitive and in need of reform but do the new proposals go too far? The Federal Government’s proposed ban on non-compete clauses was promoted principally as a measure to prevent low and middle income workers being unnecessarily prevented from changing jobs. The exposure draft legislation […]
What employers need to know about the ‘right to disconnect’
On 26 August 2024, changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) took effect, granting employees the right to ‘refuse contact or attempted contact from their employer outside the employee’s working hours’. This change was part of a global shift in workplace relations, spurred largely by an increase in flexible working arrangements which blur the line between ‘work’ and ‘home’. As an […]
Respond to a discrimination claim
Respond to a discrimination claim We will help you respond to the complaint properly, from the first letter through to conciliation or defence. A discrimination complaint is not decided the way most employers assume. In a general protections claim the law presumes the adverse action was taken for the alleged reason. It is then for […]
Review your awards, policies and workplace structure
Review your awards, policies and workplace structure We will check that your people are correctly covered, classified and engaged, and fix the framework where they are not. Ask most business owners which award covers their staff and the answer is a pause. That is not carelessness. Award coverage turns on what the business does and […]
Manage an underperforming employee
Manage an underperforming employee We will help you address underperformance in a way that is fair to the employee and safe for the business. Most underperformance has been going on for a while before anyone rings a lawyer. That is the first problem. The conversations were had informally, nothing was written down, and the employee […]
Investigate misconduct in your workplace
Investigate misconduct in your workplace We will run or guide the investigation so the findings are sound and whatever you do next is defensible. An allegation of misconduct puts two employees in your care at once. The person who complained needs to see it taken seriously. The person accused is entitled to know what is […]
Employ Australians from overseas
Employ Australians from overseas We will help you employ people in Australia as a foreign business, on arrangements that comply from the first payslip. Employing someone in Australia does not import your own employment law with them. Australian workplace law applies to work performed in Australia. It does not matter where the employer sits, what […]
Respond to an underpayment claim
Respond to an underpayment claim We will work out what is actually owed, and help you deal with it before it becomes something larger. Most underpayment is not deliberate. It comes from a misclassified role, or an award nobody realised applied. Or an annualised salary that stopped covering the hours worked, or a rate that […]
Respond to an unfair dismissal claim
Respond to an unfair dismissal claim We will help you defend the claim, get it off your desk, and get back to running the business. The form arrives with a deadline on it. The employee has twenty-one days from the dismissal to lodge, and you have seven days from service to file your response. That […]
Hire a senior employee on the right terms
Hire a senior employee on the right terms We will get the contract right for a senior hire, so the things that matter are settled before they start. A senior hire is agreed at the point when both sides most want it to work. That is exactly when the difficult terms are easiest to settle […]