What is “the positive duty” and what does it mean for businesses and organisations? Since December 2022, most businesses and organisations have had a positive duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, sex discrimination, hostile work...
Q&A on the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) with Ai Group Workplace Lawyers’ Amber Roncoroni
Now is the time to ensure you have records of compliance
With the Australian Human Rights Commission’s powers in relation to the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) commencing today, businesses and organisations should be asking: Do we have records of compliance? Such records will be essential to prove...
Workplace relations team demystifies latest round of proposed IR changes
Hundreds of people attended an Ai Group webinar last week to find out how the Federal Government’s third tranche of proposed industrial relations changes will affect business and industry. The online briefing provided key insights into the major elements of the...
How to prepare for gender pay gap deadline
Practical steps to prepare businesses for the publication of employer gender pay gaps from early next year were revealed at an Ai Group webinar last week. Employers are being urged to start now to meet the deadline for new reporting requirements — among other...
Creating Respect@Work and the release of new ‘positive duty’ guidelines
Creating respect in the workplace requires consideration and action from many parts of a business — beyond HR. The senior leadership team and Work Health and Safety (WHS) practitioners also have a role in preventing and responding to workplace sexual harassment. And...
Application to Vary the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 – Travel Time
An employee has made an application to vary the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award), such that it requires the payment of the extant vehicle allowance (clause 20.7 of the SCHADS Award) in respect of travel undertaken...
Fair Work Commission’s Aged Care Work Value Case – Stage 3
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has been dealing with long-running proceedings concerning union claims for increasing the minimum wages of employees working in the aged care sector, who are covered by the Aged Care Award 2010, the Nurses Award 2020 and the Social,...
The end of ‘tick and flick’ training? The importance of robust workplace policies & training
Businesses must ensure that their workplace behaviour policies are sound, and employees are adequately trained in appropriate workplace behaviour. This follows recent warnings from the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that commonly utilised online, self-taught and...
The power of words – poor drafting of enterprise agreement results in unintended financial consequences
A recent Decision of the Fair Work Commission has highlighted the importance of careful drafting in enterprise agreements. In the matter of AWU v Visy Glass Operations (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Visy Glass [2023] FWC 1379, employees were to receive a pay...
Is now the time to make an enterprise agreement?
Less than two weeks[1] from now, significant changes to the enterprise bargaining provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act) will commence. There is a common sentiment and theme to the enquiries among employers as this date grows nearer:...