Federal Court throws casual employment into a tailspin

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal In a decision handed down on 16 August 2018, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has thrown casual employment, and the efficacy of its use, into a tailspin. In a case which is likely to be appealed to the High Court by the employer, […]

“Loaded rates” of pay scrutinised

Fair Work Commission to scrutinise “loaded rates” of pay within Enterprise Agreements By Sid Sidhu, NRA Legal Following the recent win for retailers and the Federal Court’s decision to uphold the penalty rate cuts across five Modern Awards, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has invited peak union and employer groups to […]

Message from the CEO: 17 October 2017

The reporting over the past week on the penalty rates case has been fascinating to say the least. In many ways, it has illustrated how deeply Australian’s misconceptions have been about the issue, but more importantly, how easy it has been for those with a vested interest to heighten those misconceptions to erode the country’s […]

Union challenge to penalty rates quashed

Retailers praise Federal Court for preserving independent umpire’s integrity, after union challenge to penalty rates quashed The National Retail Association (NRA) has this morning praised the Federal Court for rejecting the unions’ attempts to have the penalty rates ruling of the independent umpire, the Fair Work Commission (FWC), overruled. The Court has this morning handed […]

Requirement to ‘consult’ in the redundancy process

By Alex Millman, Sid Sidhu and Troy Wild, NRA Legal Restructuring a business often involves making employees redundant. This is an unfortunate but logical truth. There is a natural tension between the freedom for businesses to be able to structure their operations in the most effective manner possible, and the need for workers to have […]

OzSale hit with more fines

The ACCC has hit online fashion retailer OzSale with a $500,000 fine for failing to comply with mandatory safety standards. Proceedings in the Federal Court alleged the member-only shopping club sold children’s nightwear between July 2014 and October 2015 which did not meet Australian safety standards in relation to at least five garments and made […]

Sales manager dismissed for poor performance and behaviour, not workplace rights

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissed an adverse action claim made by a Sales Manager after she was dismissed due to failure to provide sufficient evidence for a compassionate leave request. Jasmine Morris was employed as a Sales Manager at Allied Express Transport Pty Ltd and had previously been reported to have “inconsistencies” with […]

7- Eleven, wages and the Franchise Code: The story so far

A recent decision in the Federal Circuit Court is one of the latest episodes in the ongoing 7-Eleven wages saga. Federal Circuit Court Judge, Michael Jarrett, saw fit to impose the largest penalty ever ordered for an action brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman on the operator of 7-Eleven franchise. Judge Jarrett, found that the […]

Performance meeting ends worker’s comp claim

Lim v Comcare [2016] FCA 709 A worker has attempted to appeal an Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision to dismiss her worker’s compensation claim. The claim had been refused on the basis that her psychiatric injury was partly caused by a poor performance review. The Tribunal found that worker’s injury was excluded from worker’s compensation by […]