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Looking for something a little more up to date? If you are hoping to find out about the changes to casual conversion obligations which came into force in 2021, start with our Easy Guide to Casual Conversion.

Last Thursday (16 August) the Federal Court of Australia handed down a decision that has led some to suggest the nation faces Armageddon in the form of millions of casual employees suddenly being entitled to annual leave and other paid leave benefits.

The reality is probably not quite as daunting.

Continue reading “WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene – ‘Casual Employee’ Found to Be Permanent – Is the Sky Falling In?”

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has awarded compensation of $70,000 to an applicant who was employed as a business analyst with a small business employer.

The applicant in the matter, Ms Chen, worked for five years with the respondent employer, TIOBE.  TIOBE sought to rely on poor performance as the reason for the dismissal of Ms Chen but Commissioner Bissett of the FWC found the business owner could not identify any date or detail of discussions he claimed to have had with Ms Chen to discuss her performance.  The Commissioner stated:

“If there are areas of concern with respect to an employee’s work performance the obligation is on the employer to identify the performance concerns, to be clear on the level of performance required, to provide training and support as necessary to the employee and to provide regular feedback on how the employee is progressing as required. Without these steps an employee cannot know what is required of them and whether or not they are progressing as desired by the employer.”

The employer also sought to rely on Ms Chen’s conduct in relation to posts made on the staff messaging system which were critical of the business.  But the Commissioner found the comments were posted by Ms Chen’s husband without Ms Chen’s knowledge.  Ms Chen could therefore not be held responsible for her husband’s actions in this regard.

Commissioner Bissett determined Ms Chen should be awarded $70,000 compensation representing 26 weeks salary, including superannuation.

Cathy (Yaqin) Chen v TIOBE Pty Ltd T/A TIOBE [2018] FWC 4173

Need help with an unfair dismissal matter?  Speak to an ES Consultant now.

Further to the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) decision of March this year to introduce an annual entitlement of up to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave for award-reliant employees, the FWC has released the finalised version of the model clause on 9 July.

Continue reading “Unpaid Family & Domestic Violence Leave – Applicable from August 2018”