Workplace & Employment

Common workplace problems HR Managers face

• Is your business complying with the National Employment Standards?  Do you need a reminder as to what the ten (10) standards are?  And what happens if your business is not complying?  It’s time to ensure your business is complying.
• Sexual harassment – where is the law going?  What constitutes sexual harassment?  Who is liable?  In what circumstances will directors and executives be personally liable? Learning lessons from the David Jones case and discovering what your business should be doing to address these issues.
• Workplace Absenteeism – when is it considered excessive?  How you can manage your ill and injured workers – do employees have to be able to perform all of their duties to keep their job?  When can absenteeism form the basis for termination of employment? What are the repercussions for the business?
• General protections claims brought under the Fair Work Act 2009 – how you can defend these claims.  Understanding what is a workplace right, what constitutes an adverse action, and how to manage these in your workplace.
• Redundancy, Redeployment and Retrenchments – the 3 R’s.  What do these terms all mean for your business and your workforce?  What are the entitlements which flow from redundancy?  Understanding what the legislation requires prior to the terminating of employees on the grounds of redundancy is critical.
• The emergence of the Independent Contractor working relationships – what is an independent contractor as distinct from an employee?  What are the advantages of engaging contractors over employing employees?  The tips, traps and pitfalls in engaging contractors over employees in your business.
• Are employees behaving badly after leaving your business?  How do you protect your business assets that may otherwise walk out the door with your senior employees?  Understand the range of contractual strategies available in order to protect your business – how to implement and draft an appropriate and enforceable restraint of trade provision.  How to ensure the business’ intellectual property and confidential information is adequately protected.
• Workplace surveillance – what is allowed?  Do you want to start monitoring your employees’ internet and email usage?  What about tracking employees use of Company vehicles?  If so, it is critical to understand the do’s and don’t’s of surveillance in the workplace, and the importance of policy documents detailing the surveillance and the consequences for employees who fail to comply.
• Workplace Policies and Procedures – do they really mean anything?  Why should your business have policies and procedures?  What goes in them?  What action can the business take if an employee fails to comply with the policies and procedures? Lessons learnt from the recent decision of Fair Work Australia, when it considered an employee’s unfair dismissal application in light of gossiping in the workplace.