General

By Amber Roncoroni The High Court has closed the book on the contentious issue of the proper approach to the accrual, deduction and payment of personal leave under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). In the decision handed down on 13 August 2020,[1] the majority of the High Court held that: the “10…

By Amber Roncoroni A decision of a Full Court of the Federal Court confirms casual employment can be characterised by the absence of a firm commitment to the duration of employment and the days and hours the employee will work and that double dipping may follow. WorkPac has failed to obtain the Federal Court’s approval…

How all becomes clear and simple By Amber Roncoroni HLS Legal represented Halliburton Australia (Halliburton) in its recent win in the Federal Circuit Court in a decision regarding key provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) and the Long Service Leave Act 1958 (WA) (the Long Service Leave Act).  The decision is…

HLS Legal By Megan Flower Solicitor The last few years has seen a rise in the ‘gig economy’. Examples include: ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber; food delivery services like Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Foodora; and odd job task services like Airtasker. These types of companies often operate on the premise that their workers are…

HLS Legal By Amber Roncoroni Senior Associate As July quickly approaches, so does the 10 year anniversary of the commencement of key parts of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Fair Work Act) including the unfair dismissal and general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act. In this article we reflect on the Fair…

On 16 August 2018, the Full Federal Court (the Full Court) conclusively found that the term “casual employees” in s 86 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) has an acquired (that is, a traditional) legal meaning in general law. The Full Federal Court held that employees will not be “casual employees” merely…

  Introduction Benjamin Franklin once said that there are two things in life that are certain: death and taxes.  While the latter is not something we can or should be evading in a corporate setting, the former definitely is. However, it remains possible for fatal accidents to occur in the workplace.  After the mourning and…

For most employers, it is likely that a Modern Award will apply to some or all of your employees at any given time.  This is in the absence of an enterprise agreement having coverage and application. Modern Awards can be complex.  As a result, interpreting a Modern Award can often be a difficult task.  Some…

From 15 September 2017, the new Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017 (Amendment Act) took effect to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The Amendment Act was introduced to better deter unlawful practices such as those that involve the deliberate and systematic exploitation of vulnerable workers, such as migrant workers.[1] The…

From 15 September 2017, the new Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017 (Amendment Act) took effect to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). It is now possible for holding companies to be held responsible in certain circumstances, for the conduct of its subsidiaries where the subsidiaries fail to follow the FW…