1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar

2 week free trial | subscriber zone

Archive for the ‘AWAs’ Category

No Comments

Modern awards – the new face of the Fair Work Act

In this week’s Workplace Bulletin:

  • Modern awards – the new face of the Fair Work Act
  • Quick Tip of the Week: 85 ready-to-use, 100% legal, workplace contracts, policies and forms you can download right now!
  • Workplace Helpdesk Q and A: What happens if an AWA or ITEA does not provide for redundancy entitlements?

Dear Reader,

As you probably already know, modern awards are an essential part of the Federal Government’s new industrial relations regime. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) is currently undertaking an ‘award modernisation’ process that is designed to reduce and simplify the 500 or more awards that currently regulate employment in Australia. These new, modern awards will take effect from 1 January 2010.

What do you need to do to prepare for modern awards?

You need to identify which of your employees will become covered by modern awards on 1 January 2010, and determine what is likely to be contained in those awards.

You can find the current drafts of the modern awards in the Award Modernisation section of the AIRC website – www.airc.gov.au. But remember, they will not operate before January 1 2010.

How can you make modern awards work for your business needs?

There are a number of ways that you will be able to tailor modern awards to suit the individual needs of your employees and your business.

These options include:

CONTINUE READING

By Claire Berry posted April 28th 2009

No Comments

How to Deal with Serious Misconduct in Your Workplace

In this week’s Workplace Bulletin:

  • How to deal with serious misconduct in your workplace
  • Workplace Helpdesk Q and A: Confidential Information

Dear Reader,

Serious misconduct is misconduct serious enough to entitle you to end employment immediately.  It usually occurs when an employee breaches his or her duties and obligations of employment so seriously that it causes imminent and serious risk to the health or safety of a person or to the reputation or viability of your operations.

Examples of serious misconduct are:

  • Theft
  • Fraud
  • Assault
  • Being intoxicated under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol at work (to such an extent that the employee cannot carry out their regular duties)
  • Disobedience

How should you deal with serious misconduct?

Before you make any decision to dismiss an employee for serious misconduct, you must give the employee an opportunity to respond to the allegation.

Remember, dismissal for serious misconduct is likely to significantly damage an employee’s future job prospects.  For that reason, you should not take this step without carefully considering both the evidence of the misconduct and the employee’s prior work history.

Do you have to give the employee any notice of their termination?

Once you are satisfied that an employee has engaged in serious misconduct, you may terminate their employment without giving a warning, notice or pay in lieu of notice.  However, you must act immediately – if you sit on your hands after concluding that the employee has committed serious misconduct, you may lose your right to dismiss summarily.

Remember: You must still pay the employee for any unused annual or long service leave and remunerate them for any unpaid hours.

Workplace Helpdesk: Confidential Information

Q: A former employee of mine has recently begun employment with a competitor of my business. Through a mutual friend, I have been informed that my former employee has been sharing some of my marketing strategies with his new employer. What should I do?

CONTINUE READING

By Claire Berry posted July 1st 2008

No Comments

How You Will Be Affected by New Important Changes to the Sub-Class 457 Visa

In this week’s Workplace Bulletin:

  • How your business will be affected by new changes to the sub-class 457 visa
  • Workplace Helpdesk Q and A: What is an ITEA and how does it work?

Dear Reader,

If you currently employ, or plan to employ, overseas workers on a sub-class 457 visa, then recent changes to legislation will soon apply to you.

What is a sub-class 457 visa?

A sub-class 457 visa is a temporary visa which can be used to temporarily employ overseas workers to fill nominated skilled positions in your workplace. The visa can be valid anywhere from 3 months to 4 years.

What are the new changes to the 457 visa?

On 23 May 2008, the government announced that minimum salary levels (MSL) for workers on sub-class 457 visas will increase by 3.8% from 1 August this year.

This increase will apply to any new 457 employees who join your workplace as well as those you already employ under the visa.

What will happen if you don’t comply with these changes?

In the past, employers only lost their sponsorship rights if they breached their 457 visa obligations. However, if you fail to comply with the new MSL, you could be held liable under a range of sanctions that the government will introduce into Parliament by the end of 2008. These new sanctions will aim to prevent the exploitation of 457 workers by imposing penalties on employers who do not abide by their 457 visa requirements.

For more information about sub-class 457 visas and your obligations as a sponsor, please refer to your Employment Law Practical Handbook.

Workplace Helpdesk: What is an ITEA and how does it work?

Q: What is an ITEA and how does it work?

A: An ITEA (Individual Transitional Employment Agreement) is a written employment agreement made between you and an individual employee that sets out the terms and conditions of their employment. In order to make an ITEA operational you need lodge it with the Workplace Authority and ensure that the ITEA meets certain statutory requirements. During the period that an ITEA operates, it replaces any awards or other statutory workplace agreements regulating the employment of that employee.

Unlike other awards or agreements, you can only enter into an ITEA during the transition to the new workplace relations system, which will be fully implemented by 1 January 2010. Because of this, the making of new ITEAs is likely to be barred after 31 December 2009.

CONTINUE READING

By Claire Berry posted June 4th 2008

book