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The Queensland Parliament has passed new wage theft laws which could see dodgy employers jailed for up to 14 years.

Continue reading “Dodgy Employers Could Be Sent to the Joint Under New Wage Theft Laws”

Queensland’s portable long service leave (PLSL) scheme for the community services industry will commence on 1 January 2021.

Continue reading “Community Services Industry Portable Long Service Leave Scheme to Start 1 January 2021”

On 1 September 2020, the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Jobkeeper Payments) Amendment Bill 2020 (the Bill) was passed by both Houses of Parliament, officially extending operation of the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme for eligible businesses – subject to reductions in payments and other modifications – through to March 2021.

Early in July, the appeal against the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia’s August 2019 decision in Mondelez v AMWU & Ors [2019] FCAFC 138 was heard before the High Court of Australia. This morning, just shy of one year to the day the Federal Court issued the significant decision, the High Court has set aside the ruling.

UPDATE: Legislation to support the extension and modification of the JobKeeper scheme was subsequently passed by Parliament on 1 September 2020 – catch up here.

The Morrison Government has announced its intention to extend the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme beyond September, but payments will reduce whilst business eligibility for the scheme will tighten.

UPDATE: The High Court handed down its decision in this matter on 13 August 2020 – catch-up in our related article here.

Most employers will likely recall that, in August last year, a Full Federal Court handed down a significant – and, for the most part, unexpected – decision, finding that the entitlement to “10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave” contained within the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) was to be interpreted as 10 “working days” for all permanent employees. According to the Federal Court, this entitlement to 10 “working days” per year also extends to part-timers, regardless of the number of hours or days they work per week.

Earlier this month, the Palaszczuk Government introduced the Criminal Code and Other Legislation (Wage Theft) Amendment Bill 2020 (the Bill) into the Queensland Parliament, which, according to Industrial Relations Minister, Grace Grace, will amend criminal legislation “to target employers who commit serious and deliberate wage theft” whilst creating a “simple, quick and low-cost wage recovery process for Queenslanders who suffer underpayment of their wages”.

In February, we advised clients of the Government’s proposal to allow for more flexibility around the taking of Government-funded paid parental leave. Despite the obvious barriers to Parliamentary business posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Act 2020 (the Act) received Royal Assent on 16 June and came into force on 1 July 2020.

In April, when changes were made to the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) to support the JobKeeper scheme, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) was also attributed new powers to handle JobKeeper disputes. Reportedly, the FWC was flooded with more than 200 applications by the first week of May, but only around 25% of claims fell within the Commission’s jurisdiction. Although roughly 60% of early JobKeeper disputes were withdrawn because they fell outside of the new jurisdiction, the trend of claims being lodged that the FWC does not have the power to determine has continued unabated.