Australia is currently in the midst of battling a tragic and unprecedented bushfire season. At the time of publication, there have been 25 deaths, a number of people still unaccounted for, over 1600 homes destroyed, and hundreds of other homes damaged by the fires. A number of major capital cities have also been blanketed with hazardous smoke for weeks, with the Federal Government telling a number of Canberra based employees to stay home on 6 January 2020.

Comcare v Michaela Banerji [2019] HCA 23

The implied right to freedom of political communication can be a complex issue for employees. Finding the balance between workplace policies and the ambiguity of "freedom of speech" can be tricky, especially within the context of social media use. In some circumstances, an individual's expression of political opinions can result in findings of misconduct.

On 25 February 2019, Safe Work Australia published the final report of Marie Boland's review of the Model Work Health and Safety Laws ('the Review'). The Review made a number of recommendations, on which Safe Work Australia sought comment through its Consultation Regulation Impact Statement ('CRIS').

The CRIS, which was completed on 5 August 2019, was published in order to assist Safe Work Australia to prepare a Decision Regulation Impact Statement for WHS Ministers.

The Decision Regulation Impact Statement is expected to be provided to the various WHS Ministers towards the end of 2019.

There are a wide range of factors that both employers and employees must take into consideration when ending an employment relationship. Whilst many points on the "end-of-employment checklist" are simple to action and take place without issue, one increasingly common point of contention is the question of what happens to the LinkedIn connections formed by an employee in the course of their employment.

There have been recent concerns surrounding the maintenance of acceptable safety standards in labour hire between employers and host employers. As these arrangements can be complex, Safe Work Australia has released a compliance guide under work health and safety laws - Labour hire: duties of persons conducting a business or undertaking.

The model Family and Domestic Violence Leave terms are incorporated into all Modern Awards as of 1 August 2018.

Congratulations to Holman Webb’s Workplace Relations team for their nomination as finalists for Workplace Relations and Employment Team of the Year in the Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards 2018

We are delighted to announce two promotions in our Brisbane office, effective from 1 July 2018:

Holman Webb is delighted to announce 8 internal promotions, effective 1 July 2018.   These promotions span our corporate and commercial, insurance, and workplace relations practices.