News

When any of these holidays fall on a weekend, as happens this year with Boxing Day and 2 January falling on a Saturday, the situation can be confusing especially in respect of employees who do not wor...

With Malcolm Turnbull in charge it remains to be seen whether the Australian Government will significantly change its approach to employment legislation.  Australian employment legislation is complex ...

A raft of new regulations from matters such as Asbestos removal to everyday manual handling, have been released for consultation.  What is clear is that we are reverting to the prescriptive approach t...

This subject will be of interest to many of our clients who operate in Fiji. Unionism has been repressed in Fiji since the coup in 2006 and for some time the ILO has been applying pressure on the Gove...

This and a number of other cases suggest a sea change has begun.  For example, the National Labour Relations Board is considering whether it will define McDonalds as a joint employer of crew in its fr...

A recent Authority decision in Kyra Hansen v Shooting Star Enterprises Ltd T/A Fusion Salon establishes some key points in respect of the above matters. 

Duty of Good Faith does not require collective agreement to be concluded There is no longer an obligation to conclude a collective agreement, nor is there any obligation to continue bargaining after a...

The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 was based on the employee/employer relationship. The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 broadens this to include “workers” and “persons conducting a busine...

The Employment Standards Legislation Bill introduced to Parliament on 13 August 2015 promotes fairer and more productive workplaces by providing enhanced protections and benefits for both employers an...

Currently most shops are prohibited from trading on Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and ANZAC Day (until 1.00 pm on 25 April).  However some businesses such as dairies, service stations, tak...

Entitlement The former prescriptive approach to rest and meal breaks which was unworkable in many situations, is repealed.  However, employees are entitled to rest and meal breaks that provide a reaso...