Are you ready? Victoria’s OH&S laws are changing.
Set to take effect from 1 July 2022, the Victorian government is poised to introduce new psychological health regulations that place a positive duty on employers to identify and mitigate risks of mental injury in the workplace.
Fair termination of worker who refused to return to the workplace post-COVID lockdowns
There has been a great deal of discussion around returning employees to the workplace now that many of the COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, and the extent to which an employer can insist that an employee works from the workplace after an (extended) period of working from home.
COVID-19: The great holiday disrupter!
Despite our mammoth efforts in mass vaccination, it appears COVID-19 has disrupted (and will continue to disrupt!) many employees’ well-deserved break over the festive period (either through isolation or infection).
Have you complied with your consultation obligations?
The recent Full Bench decision of Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, Mr Matthew Howard v Mt Arthur Coal Pty Ltd T/A Mt Arthur Coal [2021] FWCFB 6059 (3 December 2021) considered whether Mt Arthur Coal (operated by BHP) met its consultation obligations in directing 724 employees covered by an enterprise agreement to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to gain entry to the mine.
Tougher COVID-19 vaccine exemption rules in Victoria
On 29 October 2021, COVID-19 vaccination exemption rules tightened to curb Victorian’s doctor shopping and pressuring General Practitioners to grant a medical exemption. If you are an employer or an operator of a specified facility where a vaccination mandate applies and a worker has provided you with a medical exemption, you need to be aware of these changes.
Mandatory Vaccination Directions for Victorian Workers – details finally released
On 1 October 2021, Premier Daniel Andrews announced that mandatory COVID-19 vaccination obligations would be introduced for Victorian workers who are required to work ‘onsite’. While many employers have already commenced discussions with their workforce about these upcoming requirements, all the underpinning details of the mandate have not been available, until now.
Rising again…minimum wage to increase by 2.5%
The Fair Work Commission (Commission) handed down its Annual Wage Review decision on 16 June 2021. The Commission approved a 2.5% increase to the national minimum wage, but again delayed the increase for sectors most affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Greater flexibility coming for Retailers employing part-time employees
Late last year, the (then) Minister for Industrial Relations wrote to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) asking the FWC to undertake a review of key awards in distressed industry sectors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the retail and hospitality sectors, with a view to increasing flexibility.
Wheels fall off Fair Work changes
On 18 March, in dramatic scenes in the Senate, the Federal Government’s Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill (Bill) was effectively abandoned after the Government couldn’t get enough support from the cross bench to make all of the changes that were being proposed. The Bill had promised to make the most significant IR […]
What’s to come…
On 9 December 2020 the Morrison government introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill (Bill) to parliament which seeks to introduce the most significant IR amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act), in some time.