Read up on the latest news from McDonald Murholme, including case updates and legal commentary.
How and when should you withhold an employee’s bonus? HRM examines the legalities and neuroscience of this approach. Qantas has made headlines for a provision in a performance bonus they announced in August. The bonus, paid when an employee signs a new wage agreement, will be withheld if the employee “harms” Qantas. The kicker is that individuals
Australian employers could be forced to fork out as much as $8 billion in payments to casual workers looking to claim annual leave benefits, according to an analysis of a recent Federal Court decision by the Australian Industry Group. The Ai Group has found more than one million casual employees could be entitled to annual leave back
Limiting workplace discussions about mental health to a single day was never the point of R U OK? day. But for some organisations that’s all it has become. People I know have committed suicide. I say ‘know’ and not ‘knew’ because I am not comfortable referring to them in the past tense, and probably never
Former and current employees have accused Flight Centre of having a corrupt, booze-filled culture and troubling pay practices. HRM talks to legal experts Trent Hancock and Athena Koelmeyer about the matter. Travel company Flight Centre has been accused of encouraging staff to charge questionable mark-ups, and engaging in troubling pay practices. The workplace culture has
Workers are losing extra pay on weekends and public holidays because of deals between unions and businesses not because of cuts to penalty rates, the Turnbull government says. Government MPs aren’t backing a private member’s bill by Labor leader Bill Shorten to restore penalty rates for 700,000 workers, with Liberal Craig Kelly saying the bargaining
Uber passengers across Australia face the prospect of more stop-work action by drivers if the ride-sharing company refuses to improve pay rates for add-on services. Tens of thousands of Uber drivers did not pick up passengers during Monday’s morning commute as they protested for fairer conditions. Ride Share Drivers United want Uber to axe its
Drivers give Uber a one star rating in a push for better pay. Due to their independent status, they’re forced to use non-conventional methods. If you live in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane or Hobart, and rely on the ride share giant Uber to get you from A to B, you might have noticed a substantial
The food delivery company announced it’s closing in Australia, even as it has court cases outstanding. How will this impact the gig economy contractor/employee dispute? Foodora has announced that they will be “winding down services” and closed for business as of 20 August, even as it has impending legal matters to address. The food delivery
A former worker at Toyota Australia’s paint shop has been awarded nearly $70,000 in compensation after the Fair Work Commission found he was unfairly dismissed over allegations of inappropriate personal relationships with other workers. The employee worked as the general foreperson at Toyota’s paint shop in the production and quality subdivision and had been employed
A Sydney-based beauty and hair salon has avoided paying penalties by entering into an enforceable undertaking (EU) with Australia’s workplace watchdog after admitting to underpaying seven workers more than $25,000 and failing to issue them payslips. OKS Hair and Beauty Salon in Lidcombe drew the attention of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) after one of
Australians with a criminal record often face barriers when it comes to finding a job. HRM investigates the issue in light of the recent Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) finding of discrimination against Suncorp. In 2015, a man – referred to as Mr BE – applied for a job with financial services giant Suncorp as
The case could have massive ramifications for the food-delivery industry, and a precedent could mean tens of millions of dollars in back payments and penalties, an employment lawyer says. On Tuesday afternoon the Fair Work Ombudsman announced it will take legal action against Foodora Australia Pty Ltd, the company behind online food-delivery company Foodora. The
Do you have a large male workforce? Then you need to keep informed about the impact that mental health is having on your employees, and understand the best way to help them. More than five men die prematurely each hour in Australia due to potentially preventable conditions. One of the biggest causes is mental health
Men in Australia are three times more likely than women to commit suicide[1], and in many cases, they have no history of ever being diagnosed with a mental illness. This suggests that many men still suffer with depression in silence and need to be encouraged to speak up. Men’s mental health week kicks off from
Internships can be a great way to get industry experience; however, there are certain things you need to know before becoming an intern. There are plenty of dodgy internships out there – here’s the lowdown on what constitutes an internship, what your rights are, if you can expect to get paid and what you need
Employers use a job interview as a way to work out how suitable you are for a role and an interview is an ideal opportunity for you to discuss your skills and expertise. But what kind of questions are recruiters and hirers allowed to ask? The purpose of a job interview is to determine whether
With Mothers’ Day coming up on Sunday 13th May, it’s a good time to recognise and celebrate the contribution of working mothers to the Australian economy. Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), Libby Lyons says Australian women are increasingly active participants in the workforce while still performing close to double the unpaid domestic work
Top-tier law firm Allens expects its partners to retire at 65, which experts have suggested would be unlawful age discrimination. The revelation expands the types of partnerships that continue to hold onto the historic notion that it is legal to mandate or expect senior partners to retire at a specific age. Another law firm, King
KPMG and Ernst & Young have engaged in the long-standing and widespread practice of retiring partners as young as 58 years old in what legal experts have warned is a clear case of unlawful age discrimination. The firms’ partnership agreements, seen by The Australian Financial Review, include clauses that either mandate or “expect” partners to retire at 58
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry has shed light on corporate misconduct at the highest management level. Alan McDonald asks if management will now judge itself by the standards it has demanded, of zero tolerance, from lower level employee’s workplace mistakes? Until now, management has successfully advocated to The Fair
