The Fair Work Commission’s Expert Wage Panel determined to increase the National Minimum Wage and Modern Award rates of pay by 2.4%.  The new rates of pay will come into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2016.

Specifically, from 1 July 2016 the National Minimum Wage will be $672.70 per week or $17.70 per hour.  The rates of pay in all Modern Awards will also increase by 2.4% and consequently increase the amount of any applicable loadings or penalties, however that increase may not be 2.4%.

Holman Webb is delighted to announce that we have been selected as finalists in the following Australasian Law Awards 2016 categories:

• Law Firm of the Year (up to 100 lawyers)
• Insurance Specialist Firm of the Year

Recent Fair Work Commission decisions have again confirmed the importance of strict compliance with procedural requirements by employers when seeking the approval of Enterprise Agreements.

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) sets out a number of substantive and procedural criteria regarding the processes to be followed for the commencement, negotiation and approval of Enterprise Agreements (EAs). These include prescribed formats for required documents set out the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

In the context of claims for negligence, there are few authorities providing guidance in relation to conduct that amounts to bullying. The District Court of New South Wales has recently determined a claim by a plaintiff who alleges that he sustained a psychological injury as a result of three instances of workplace bullying that occurred over a 5 year period (see Lal v Australian Administration Services Pty Ltd).

Congratulations to Kristen Hammond, Associate in our Workplace Relations team, on her recent nomination as Young Gun of the Year in The Lawyers Weekly 2015 Women In Law Awards. 

The Women In Law Awards recognises the achievements of female legal professionals in all areas and at all levels, with the winners being announced at a black tie gala dinner  in Melbourne on 27 November.  All of us at Holman Webb wish Kristen the best of luck.

A critical lesson from the Quakers Hill Nursing Home disaster is to conduct adequate pre-employment screening and check references on new employees.

These principles may also be applied to conducting adequate background checks and checking references on independent contractors such as agency staff, volunteers and potential residents.

The recent blockades of Australia’s waterfront and ports may bring flashbacks to the 1998 Waterfront Dispute and have people questioning where the workplace word of the millennium, “Collaboration” has gone.

The Queensland Treasurer, Curtis Pitt, on 15 July 2015 introduced into Queensland Parliament the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 (Qld) (the Bill). The Bill makes a number of amendments to the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) (WC&RA), the most significant of which is clause 6 which will see the removal from the WC&RA of the requirement for a worker’s injury to have an assessed degree of permanent impairment (DPI) of more than 5% in order for a worker to be entitled to bring a common law claim against their employer. The amendment is proposed to be back dated to commence on 31 January 2015 (the date the Qld state election was held).

Welcome to our second edition of the Holman Webb Insurance Law Bulletin.

The recently decided case of The Fair Work Ombudsman v Crocmedia Pty Ltd provided a hard learned lesson for employers about the importance of correctly classifying and remunerating employees. The case highlights the importance of understanding that employment relationships have a legal definition and employer’s cannot simply dressed up employment as an unpaid internship or work experience in order to escape any obligation to remunerate pursuant to the Fair Work Act 2009 (“FWA”).