In recent months, I’ve spoken to many HR professionals about all things employee relations or “ER.”...more
In recent months, I’ve spoken to many HR professionals about all things employee relations or “ER.”
What stood out was the challenging nature of the role of those in ER. The role of ER has never been more valuable to...more
In recent months, I’ve spoken to many HR professionals about employee relations (ER). The challenging nature of the role for those in ER was a common theme. The role of ER has never been more valuable to Australian employers,...more
In our previous post celebrating the firm’s decade in Australia, our partners shared their insights into the most significant changes in employment and safety law that have affected leading employers. This post further...more
Seyfarth just celebrated ten years of service to leading employers in Australia. To mark the occasion, we invited some of our partners to share insights on the evolution of employment, industrial relations and workplace...more
It is worth noting that under the original timetable of the Hon Tony Burke MP for the Closing Loopholes Bill, it would have been passed as law this week....more
If it’s not already happening, Board room agendas will be making room for yet another compliance program.
We’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating: the bolstering of anti-sexual harassment laws will see workplaces...more
9/26/2023
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Gender Equality Act ,
Workplace Safety
Anything but casual…
In the first of our series examining the Closing Loopholes Bill introduced into Parliament yesterday, we look at the new measures for casual employment....more
Psychosocial risk is number one on the agenda for many Australian workplace leaders. Right now, most safety briefings requested of us are on this very topic. And with good reason. The common refrain from employers is ‘what do...more
Employers around Australia will need to review and centralise sexual harassment prevention initiatives in light of the new duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to take “reasonable and proportionate” measures to prevent...more
This is The Australian’s 8 December 2022 headline. It reflects the result of its 2022 CEO Survey. We’re not surprised. It echoes the observation made in our previous blog about the new laws getting much C-suite interest....more
Across a range of disciplines, the Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 will bring a paradigm shift. Indeed, on our count, there are thirteen new civil penalty laws aimed at employers arising from new...more
In our previous blog, Chris Gardner and I explained why in our view, if the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill was made law, it would spell the end of single-enterprise bargaining. We said this would happen because many employers...more
In our previous blog on the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill, Darren Perry explained that the Bill would change the workplace landscape if passed. Why that is, we will explore here....more
The key issues affecting Australian workplaces bear a strong resemblance with those in the United States. While generalizations suffer from the limitations of being just that, here are five issues HR and workplace leaders in...more
As you will recall, the view of many is that enterprise bargaining in Australia has run its course. Essentially the view is that there’s little incentive for an employer to bargain (beyond avoiding harm to the business...more
Lots has been said recently in the press about enterprise agreement making and the approval process by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). In short, the numbers of agreements being made is down and approval times are “long”. The...more
In a previous blog, we’ve mentioned the decline of enterprise bargaining in Australia.
Some data to support this follows in this blog. Both agreement numbers and employees covered by in-term agreements are in decline....more
In yesterday’s blog, we commented on the state of play in enterprise bargaining in Australia.
So what’s the outlook for enterprise bargaining in Australia? Here’s the top 7...more
A consistent theme in recent years for both employers and unions is that enterprise bargaining is broken.
The genesis of enterprise bargaining in the mid 1990’s lay in its potential to generate productivity gains at a time...more
Traditionally, alternative labour models – including outsourcing and contracting – have been used by business to defray cost and risk and deal with workflow fluctuations. Today’s environment is creating new challenges for...more
7/12/2018
/ Australia ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Outsourcing ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Unions
At a recent industry conference, a keynote speaker talked about great outcomes a number of our clients achieved in a critical enterprise bargaining round.
One observation was the importance of “patience“ – with which we...more
Within eight days of each other Bill Shorten and ACTU head, Sally McManus, have called for changes to the enterprise bargaining regime which is a central feature of Labor’s own Fair Work Act. Whilst we will no doubt hear more...more
Social, technological and economic forces impacting the workplace will continue to pose challenges for employers, employees, unions, policy makers and regulators in 2018....more
2/6/2018
/ Australia ,
Construction Industry ,
Infrastructure ,
International Labor Laws ,
Mining ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Ports ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Unions ,
Wage and Hour
According to the Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations, Brendan O’Connor, (collective) bargaining power has tilted too much in favour of employers. This would rankle many an employer who, amongst other things, would feel...more