A senior manager on a $240,000 annual remuneration package has failed to convince the Fair Work Commission he is an award-covered employee protected from unfair dismissal in the case of Mun Kong Tang v Metro Trains Melbourne Pty Ltd [2020] FWC 2166 (27 April 2020). At...
High-Earning Manager Unable To Bring Unfair Dismissal Claim
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Pre-employment questions: Could potential employees have a claim?
On 9 April 2020 the Federal Court of Australia determined a general protections claims in Maric v Ericsson Australia Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 452 in what the Court described as an “unusual case”. The Court determined whether or not the protections afforded by the general...
What to do when redundancy obligations cost too much
Print Logistics (Aust) Pty Ltd (Print Logistics) made an application to vary the redundancy pay due to one of its former employees, on the basis that Print Logistics did not have the financial capacity to make the redundancy payment, and sought that the redundancy...
Order to Stop ‘Blue Flu’ Granted
On 9 January 2020, Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd (Orora) made an application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order pursuant to section 418 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) to stop unprotected industrial action in the form of ‘Blue Flu’ being...
Changes to annualised salary clauses cause difficulty for employers
Changes to the annualised salary provisions in 19 modern awards, including the Clerks – Private Sector Award 2010 and the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010, took effect on 1 March 2020. What’s changed? Depending on which modern...
MONDELEZ v AMWU to be heard by the High Court
Stephen Smith of Ai Group Workplace Lawyers along with barristers Stuart Wood QC and Dimitri Ternovki are representing Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd in its upcoming appeal to the High Court regarding paid personal/carer’s leave. The case is considering the meaning...
Qantas position prevails: no personal/carer’s leave or compassionate leave for stood down workers
On 18 May 2020, the Federal Court handed down its decision in the case of Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia v Qantas Airways Limited [2020] FCA 656, dismissing two applications by the...
Meet Ai Group Workplace Lawyers’ newest Legal Practitioner Director, Ian Dixon
When we catch up first with experienced employment lawyer Ian Dixon it’s via a Teams call. It’s a curious way for Ian to begin his Ai Group journey out of our Melbourne office, but par for the course during the pandemic’s “new normal”. Happily, he’s already adapted....
New Federal Court Decision Compounds The Risks Regarding Casual Employment
On 20 May 2020, the Full Court of the Federal Court handed down a decision that will compound the risks for employers of casuals claiming annual leave and other entitlements of full-time employment.
Applications to Vary the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010
As part of the Fair Work Commission’s four yearly review of the modern awards, a number of significant substantive claims have been made by the Health Services Union, the Australian Services Union and United Voice to vary the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (the SCHADS Award).