Ever wondered how much notice you are required to give when terminating employment? Other than looking to the employment contract itself, the first point of reference is always section 117 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
Read more on Byron Cannon’s article here.
Ever wondered how to deal with that one employee who’s always taking a sick day? We all know the type. Either we’ve worked with them or they’ve worked for us. One thing’s for sure, they can cost your business not only money but also create an idle culture amongst staff.
Thankfully, case law tells us that we shouldn’t be afraid to dismiss such employees provided we have a valid reason.
I recently read the case of Anderson v Crown Melbourne. Here, the employer discovered from other staff members that the employee was intending to fly interstate to attend a football game.
Read the rest of Byron Cannon’s article here.
I recently read the case of Hodgson v Amcor Ltd; Amcor Ltd & Ors v Barnes & Ors [2012] VSC 94 which addressed a number of key principles of redundancy.
Hodgson had been employed by Amcor Ltd for 38 years and was made redundant by the company at age 61. His annual remuneration package was as follows:
No period of notice in the event of redundancy was specified in Hodgson’s employment contract; however, Amcor Ltd had a company Redundancy Policy which applied to all employees.
Read more of Byron Cannon’s blog article here.
Extreme Weather Conditions and Your Employees
The recent floods in Queensland and other areas have highlighted to many the importance of having clear and concise workplace policies dealing with extreme weather conditions, so as to prevent confusion as to who is entitled to what.
The table below provides a helpful summary of an employer’s position in certain situations:
| Situation | Your position as an employer | Our recommendation |
| An employee is unable to attend work because of floods or another extreme weather condition. | You must first consult any applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement.If there are no specific provisions in an applicable award or agreement, you may agree to the employee taking either paid or unpaid leave. | Have a clause in your employment agreement which outlines your position in relation to paid or unpaid leave received during this period. |
| The workplace is in shutdown due to floods or extreme weather conditions | You must first consult any applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement.When the workplace is shut down and employees are unable to be usefully employed for reasons completely out of the employer’s control, such as extreme weather conditions, the Fair Work Act makes provisions for employees to be stood down without pay. However, this will only apply if there are no specific provisions in an applicable award or employment /enterprise agreement. | Have a clause in your employment agreement which outlines your position in relation to paid or unpaid leave received during this period.If possible, have your employees take part in other paid work, such as cleaning up the workplace (please note that this should be extended to those employees physically capable. Workplace health and safety requirements would continue to apply, and significant penalties can apply if these laws are breached). |
| An employee has asked for leave to care for their child because the school has closed down. | The Fair Work Act provides that in an unexpected emergency, an employee is entitled to personal/carer’s leave for the care or support of a person in their immediate family or household, who requires care or support because of the unexpected emergency.An applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement may give an employer authority to request evidence of such an unexpected emergency. | Check any applicable award, employment agreement, enterprise agreement or other instrument to see if specific provisions apply. |
| Are employees entitled to Community Service Leave to assist with emergency management operations? | The Fair Work Act provides that employees who are registered with a recognised emergency management body may take a period of unpaid leave, for the purposes of assisting in an eligible community service activity.There is no minimum or maximum length of entitlement to leave, however it must be reasonable. There are several further requirements that an employee must meet before they are entitled to Community Service Leave.
More specific provisions may be contained in an applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement. |
Have a clause in your employment agreement which outlines the requirements for entitlement to Community Service Leave. |
If you are concerned about your obligations as an employer, or any other employment law issue, please contact Tony Pattinson of our office.
Paid Parental Leave
Working parents who will adopt or give birth to a child from 1 January 2011 may be eligible to take advantage of Australia’s first Paid Parental Leave Scheme (“the Scheme”).
From 1 January 2011, primary carers who meet the eligibility criteria will receive up to 18 weeks pay at the national minimum wage. To be eligible, the employee must have:
Employees are not required to have worked full-time to qualify. Qualification may even be granted to those who are self-employed, casual, recently changed jobs or have multiple employers.
If the employee returns to work while receiving payments from the Scheme, their entitlement will cease. However, if agreed between the employer and the employee, the employee may participate in workplace activities whilst on Scheme for up to 10 days, for the purposes of ‘keeping in touch’ with the workplace. The employee is entitled to receive payment for these days at their normal rate of pay. The 10 day ‘keeping in touch’ allowance does not need to be taken all at once. If the employee receives payment for more than 10 days, they will cease to receive payments under the Scheme.
The Scheme is funded by the Family Assistance Office, not the employer. However, the payments are to be managed by the employer. The participation of the employer in managing the payments is voluntary until 1 June 2011, but will be compulsory after that date. It is advisable that employers use this 6 month window to make any necessary changes to their pay-roll systems.
If you are concerned about your parental leave obligations, or any other employment law issue, please contact Tony Pattinson or Sarah Quilliam of our office.
FREE Employment Law Seminar Series will be held on the following dates:
Mon 20 Sept 6 pm Fair Work Act Overview
Mon 27 Sept 6 pm Modern Awards
Mon 4 Oct 6 pm Unfair Dismissal
Click here to download brochure
WHERE:
Ferguson Cannon
Level 1,17 Southern Drive Maroochydore
RSVP:
Please note that numbers are limited.
To reserve your seat, please contact Tracy Elliott at tracy@fclawyers.com.au or (07) 5443 6600
The Paid Parental Leave System
Parliament has recently passed a paid parental leave scheme through the Senate which is set to come into effect on 1 January 2011.
The scheme allows employees who take parental leave up to 18 weeks payment at a rate of $569.90 per week, which is the national weekly minimum wage. The paid leave can be taken any time within the first year after birth.
In order to qualify for paid parental leave, the employee must have:
1. been in paid work continuously for at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of the child;
2. worked for at least 330 hours in that 10 month period (just over one day a week) with no more than an eight week gap between two consecutive working days.
1. Not earn more than $150,000.00 per year;
2. Been approved by the Family Assistance Office.
Employees are not required to have worked full-time to qualify. Qualification may even be granted to those who are self-employed, casual, recently changed jobs or have multiple employers.
At present both the Labour government and the Opposition have made promises during the recent election campaign that some paid parental leave will be available to fathers, however plans to provide these payments are yet to be finalised.
How the scheme is funded
The paid parental leave scheme is funded by the Family Assistance Office, not the employer. However the payments are to be managed by the employer. The participation of the employer in managing the payments will be voluntary until 1 June 2011, but will be compulsory after that. It is advisable that employers use this 6 month window to make any necessary changes to their pay-roll systems.
Managing payment of parental leave to an employee largely involves using the same systems as making normal payment. For example, employers will be required to withhold PAYG tax as usual, and provide a pay-slip to the employee showing the parental leave payment and tax deductions. However, neither employers nor the Family Assistance Office are required to make superannuation contributions in addition to the payments.
Parental leave – employer obligations
The Fair Work Act 2009 (“the Act”) currently provides that employees who have worked for the same employer for 12 months or more are entitled to 12 months of unpaid parental leave by the employer. This 12 month period can be shared between parents or primary care-givers. Employees are entitled to make a request for a further 12 months parental leave, which the employer must not unreasonably refuse.
At the end of the parental leave, the employee has the right to return to their job as it was prior them taking leave.
If you are concerned about your parental leave obligations, or any other employment law issue, please contact Tony Pattinson or Sarah Quilliam of our office.
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