As Victoria moves toward introducing a statutory right for employees to work from home up to two days a week, many employers are asking an important question: will we still have the ability to say no? The answer is yes – but only when refusals are handled carefully, transparently and with proper reasoning. Two recent [...]
It’s hard to fire people in Australia. I’ve read a judgement this month from the High Court of Australia that has wide-ranging implications for employers who may be undergoing restructures or making employees redundant; it’s so significant in my view that it may prove to be a precedent case in years to come. But at [...]
Many are re-instating the 5-day, in-person work week. While doing this might seem straightforward, the legal intricacies are far from simple. Here, we set out the main points when directing employees back to the workplace. The Basics: Lawful and Reasonable Instructions Generally, employees are expected to follow "lawful and reasonable" instructions from their employers or [...]
Kimber v Sapphire Coast Community Aged Care [2021] FWCFB 6015 An Appeal to the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission in NSW has been unsuccessful, with the Full Bench majority upholding the dismissal of a receptionist at a NSW aged care facility who refused to get a flu vaccination shot. This decision will surely [...]
