by Jennifer Bicknell | Oct 10, 2025
The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 has become law. It amends the Fair Work Act to protect penalty and overtime rates for modern award-reliant employees. The Fair Work Commission must ensure that: penalty rate and overtime rates...
by Jennifer Bicknell | Oct 10, 2025
A continued sharp rise in mental health claims. Some are absolutely genuine and deserve every bit of care and compassion. Others… arrive just as a performance issue or misconduct concern is about to come to a head. Employers need to handle both with urgency –...
by Jennifer Bicknell | Sep 19, 2025
High Court Expands Employers’ Redeployment Duties in Redundancies The High Court of Australia has clarified that before making a role redundant, employers must now consider all possible redeployment options – not just vacant roles. This includes looking at...
by Jennifer Bicknell | Sep 19, 2025
From 26 August 2024, employees in businesses with 15+ staff gained the right to disconnect – that is, to reasonably refuse to monitor, read or respond to work contact outside their hours. As of 26 August 2025, this right also applies to small businesses. Take...
by Jennifer Bicknell | Sep 9, 2025
A small business employer met with an employee over allegations including watching “demonic videos” at work, using the women’s toilets despite being told not to, and disparaging a colleague. Mid-meeting, the employee declared, “I’m done” and “I’m out of here”, threw...
