AWL Bulletins

“The Times They are a-Changin” – so goes the Bob Dylan song. The same is true of workplace relations in 2023 with the federal government putting on its reform running shoes. Federal Workplace Minister Tony Burke recently said his strategy is to lift the floor for...

There are some common myths about modern industrial awards in our system of employment law; 1. Employers can agree with employees to “opt out” of an industrial award. Not correct. Awards apply as a matter of law and not choice. An employee can agree not to be subject...

Apologies to Mark Twain but incentive schemes are like statistics; they can be open to manipulation. Often have we seen disgruntled employees whose expectations of large incentive payments have not been borne out, particularly when their employment has ended. The...

Whenever employment is terminated, the first legal remedy to consider is a statutory unfair dismissal claim. We say “statutory” because the remedy only exists under legislation. There is no common law concept of unfair dismissal. At common law, employers can terminate...

It is important to understand what you are signing up for when entering into a services and facilities agreement as a way of working. There are 2 primary ways that workers can be engaged – employment and contracting. However, it is not uncommon, particularly in the...

Most people go into conciliation conferences in the Fair Work Commission thinking about the basic outcomes they want, whether it be reinstatement, a resignation, compensation or other non financial outcomes. A practical settlement at a conference often involves the...

The truth is that not every workplace dispute or complaint has a neat legal solution. Most of the time there will be no government agency to solve the problem so it is necessary to consider private legal action. It is wise to consider the best option for a particular...

There has been more interest this year than normal in the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review given the inflationary spike and change of government. The Fair Work Commission handed down its Annual Wage Review decision today. The FWC Panel unanimously decided to:...

Can employees be forced to work long hours and can additional payment be recovered for those hours? This is mainly but not solely a concern for salaried employees. There are 2 aspects to the issue. Firstly, the Fair Work Act establishes the standard of 38 maximum...

With the dust settling from the election on Saturday night, what changes can we expect to see in the workplace relations field? According to the ALP workplace relations policy, Labor will: • Change the objects of the Fair Work Act so that the Fair Work Commission...