The Covid-19 pandemic transformed remote work from an occasional privilege into a mainstream practice. As businesses and employees adjust to this new normal, the question remains: should working from home be a legal entitlement or a matter of workplace policy? With proposals emerging at both state and national levels, and the Fair Work Commission considering new award provisions, the legal framework continues to evolve.

Read the full article to understand the current position and what it means for employers navigating flexible work arrangements.

Employers relying on annualised salaries to meet award obligations face new uncertainty after the Federal Court’s decision in Fair Work Ombudsman v Woolworths Group Ltd. The ruling narrows the scope of common law set-off clauses, limiting their effect to a single pay period and preventing employers from offsetting over- and under-payments across longer periods such as six months or a year. The Court’s interpretation of section 323 of the Fair Work Act means award entitlements, including penalty rates and overtime, must be paid in full each pay period.

This shift complicates the use of annualised salaries for employees covered by modern awards, as employers can no longer use contracts to smooth these entitlements over a year. While previous cases permitted annualised averaging, the Woolworths decision marks a significant departure, highlighting the complexity of Australia’s workplace laws. To ensure compliance and reduce risk, employers should consider using annualised salary provisions within modern awards or enterprise agreements and ensure their time and wage recording is compliant.

The Fair Work Commission has confirmed that casual labour hire employees are entitled to the benefit of same job, same pay orders, even when the host employer’s enterprise agreement only applies to full-time salaried employees…

A lesson from the Fair Work Commission on why investigations are important and what not to do….

We share 5 common investigation pitfalls and why it matters.

There’s a number of things that change for employees from 1 July. Here’s our end of financial year checklist to help HR remain compliant from 1 July

Here’s a list of changes to the Fair Work Act starting on 6 June 2023. The Secure Jobs, Better Pay amendments include multi-employer bargaining, right to request flexible arrangements rules, industrial action and PABO changes, BOOT amendments and more. Find out more by reading our blog post.

Most employers want to do the right thing. But Starting next Tuesday, the rules surrounding certain flexible working requests are becoming more complex. We can help.

Waiting until the next pay run to process termination pay rather than making certain termination payments on or by an employee’s last day could cause you to breach the law.

Here’s a couple of things we’ve found many employers are not aware of.

You have 4 weeks left to initiate bargaining if you want the current rules to apply. Some bargaining changes under the Secure Jobs, Better Pay amendments start on 6 June 2023, but you can avoid them if you initiate bargaining before that time. Read on to find out more.

It feels like a gazillion things are going on in the employment and IR space right now, and that’s because there are. So what can businesses do? We’ve got five tips below…

As a business owner or HR practitioner, staying ahead of the ever-changing landscape of employment law can be a daunting task. With recent updates to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and more changes on the horizon, it's crucial to take proactive measures.

So what can business to do? Read on below to find Workable Law & IR’s 10 practical tips and strategies we’ve put together to help you stay ahead of the curve.

New pay secrecy terms have been included in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) that will have a significant impact on the way employers handle remuneration and terms of employment for their employees. These new sections, aim to give employees more rights and transparency when it comes to their pay and employment conditions. Read on to find out how to ensure your business can remain compliant with the new rules.