Earlier this year, a Victorian Magistrate’s Court handed down a $100,000 fine and a costs order against an employer in a decision which highlights the importance of having proper policies and procedures. In this Employment Update we discuss two decisions that highlight the cost of not having proper policies, procedures, and training regimes in place. […]
From 1 March 2025 with employees in Queensland are required to prepare (and follow) a sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment prevention plan (“Plan”). The risk management process is set out in the ‘Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work’ Code of Practice, which can be accessed here. Broadly speaking, the Plan must: […]
The first part of the now ‘split’ Closing the Loopholes Bill has now passed through Parliament. In summary, employers should be aware that this new legislation contains provisions that are designed to: Prevent companies underpaying workers through the use of labour hire arrangements; Criminalise deliberate wage theft; Strengthen discrimination protections for workers experiencing family and […]
In December 2022, through the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 (Cth), a new positive duty was placed on employers and other persons conducting a business or undertaking (‘PCBU’s’) to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex related discrimination and harassment behaviours in the workplace. The Federal Government’s Respect@Work […]
On 6 March 2023, amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘FW Act’) commenced, and which empower the Fair Work Commission to deal with sexual harassment disputes through broader powers than the pre-existing ‘stop sexual harassment’ order jurisdiction provided for. These changes follow the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation (Respect at Work) Act 2022 […]
Industrial Relations reform was a dominant political battleground between the major parties, and a clear focus for the Albanese Federal Government throughout 2022. The Federal Government has now successfully passed arguably the most significant reforms to the Fair Work Act since its introduction some 13 years ago. Some amendments will have immediate impacts for employers, […]
The Respect@Work Bill is set to create duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment, discrimination and sex-based harassment The Federal Government has taken the first step in delivering on its election promise to implement the remaining recommendations from the Respect@Work report. The most significant change from the Bill introduced […]
This month we will look at a recent decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘Tribunal’), where an employer who failed to prevent the sexual harassment and assault of a female employee was ordered to pay $150,000 in general damages. Background The 27-year-old Beauty Therapist (‘employee’) commenced part-time employment at the salon, Man Oh […]
In this Employment Update we will discuss the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021 (Cth) that commenced operation on 10 September 2021. We will outline the reasons behind the changes and what they mean for employers. Background In 2018, the Australian Human Rights Commission conducted a National Inquiry into Sexual […]
Employers need to stamp out inappropriate conduct in the workplace warns specialist Employment Law firm, Aitken Legal. This comes as a former employee of a Brisbane laundromat had compensation increased on appeal to the Industrial Court of Queensland, to $28.702.60 for economic loss and $130,000 for general and aggravated damages. The increased compensation is $100,000 […]