Employment Law Handbook

14/08/2025

BULLETIN: A recent decision explored how the issue of reasonable redeployment in a redundancy situation can become complex when the employer engages contractors to provide labour within its enterprise.

An employee who is dismissed on grounds of genuine redundancy cannot make an unfair dismissal claim under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). One of the requirements for a genuine redundancy is that it would have been unreasonable in all the circumstances for the employee to be redeployed

11/08/2025

CASE LAW: The husband-and-wife operators of two Vietnamese eateries were prosecuted by the Fair Work Ombudsman for several contraventions, including wage underpayment.

https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com.au/case-law/eateries-operators-ordered-to-serve-up-more-than-800-000-in-shocking-underpayment-case/

08/08/2025

BULLETIN: The Federal Court has handed down its first decision in relation to the prohibition against harassing conduct based on s*x, which is not necessarily s*xual in nature.
*xbasedharassment *xualharassment

In Magar v Khan (2025), the Federal Court handed down its first decision in relation to the prohibition against harassing conduct based on s*x, which is not necessarily s*xual in nature. This prohibition was introduced in 2021 when the Federal Government amended the S*x Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)...

05/08/2025

Q&A: Can an employee take personal/carer's leave without having to produce a medical certificate to support it?

https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com.au/question-and-answer/can-an-employee-take-personal-carers-leave-without-producing-a-medical-certificate/

31/07/2025

BULLETIN: The Fair Work Commission recently had to determine whether an employee’s absence from her job in an accounting firm had been an abandonment of employment.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently had to determine whether an employee’s absence from her job in an accounting firm had been an abandonment of employment in Alves v T.C Investment Unit Trust (2025). What is abandonment of employment? Abandonment of employment arises when an employee is absen...

29/07/2025

Workplace policies are essential tools to help you manage employee responsibilities and expectations effectively. Depending on your workplace, you may require several policies, all of which take significant time and expertise to draft. But not for subscribers to the Employment Law Handbook, who receive access to downloadable templates for nearly 20 workplace policies.
This is just another way we help you to save time and money while you meet your legal obligations.

Check out our library of download documents here: https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com.au/documents/

24/07/2025

BULLETIN: A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed that employees cannot insist on hybrid working arrangements simply because it worked for both the employer and the employee during the pandemic.

A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has confirmed that employees cannot insist on hybrid working arrangements simply because it worked for both the employer and the employee during the pandemic. In Paul Collins v Intersystem Australia Pty Ltd (2025), an employee sought an order from....

21/07/2025

Q&A: Must you accept as evidence of the need for personal leave medical certificates from online doctors? Find out in the Employment Law Handbook.

https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com.au/question-and-answer/must-we-accept-medical-certificates-from-online-doctors/

17/07/2025

BULLETIN: The Federal Court recently had to determine whether commission payments to a stockbroker could be set-off against the statutory entitlements of wages and leave loading.

The Federal Court recently had to determine whether commission payments to a stockbroker could be set-off against the statutory entitlements of wages and leave loading, to which the stockbroker claimed he was owed under the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2010 and Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Ord....

14/07/2025

CASE LAW: Two financial advisers commenced proceedings in the Federal Court after their employer failed to pay their full bonuses following their resignations.

https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com.au/case-law/company-found-to-owe-bonuses-to-two-departing-employees/

11/07/2025

DID YOU KNOW: It is illegal in Australia for employers to advertise for a position that would breach the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) or a Fair Work instrument, such as advertising a position with below award or agreement rates of pay.
Find out more about the law as it applies to job advertisements in the Employment Law Handbook chapter, Recruitment: https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com.au/chapters/recruitment/ -by-step-how-to-write-a-job-advertisement

10/07/2025

BULLETIN: Explore what reasonable notice of employment termination is in the latest Workplace Bulletin.

A contract of ongoing permanent employment is terminable by the employer or employee giving the other party a period of notice of intention to terminate the contract. If the contract is in writing, the requisite period of notice is usually an express term of the contract. The Fair Work Act