All publications relating to ‘Richard Ottley’
Resigning from your employment — can you withdraw your resignation? — Latest developments
In recent times there has been a string of decisions from the Fair Work Commission directed to whether and in what circumstances, an employee can assert that a resignation given in the heat of the moment which is withdrawn, may not be relied upon by their employer. To those following the titanic struggle…
Do you have to pay an employee where their own conduct has prevented them from performing their job?
An employer might be forgiven for thinking that where an employee’s conduct has rendered them unable to perform their role, then there is no obligation to pay them wages for the relevant period of downtime. However, this question is one which is now the subject of a Full Bench decision of…
Facing an Investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman — What is at stake?
It is not uncommon for employers to face investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman (“FWO”) where for example, a disgruntled employee has complained to the FWO about a workplace issue such as a failure to pay adequate wages or to meet award requirements. Experience suggests that the reaction of employers to the FWO’s…
Outer limit/maximum term employment contracts their future after the Navitas decision
Introduction The decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission on 8 December 2017 in Saeid Khayam v Navitas English Pty Ltd t/a Navitas English [2017] FWCFB 5162 (Navitas) has narrowed the opportunity for employers to rely upon outer limit or maximum term contracts as a defence to a claim for unfair dismissal. An…
ACCC report highlights penalties for franchisors for failing to meet disclosure obligations
The ACCC has recently published its bi-annual “Small business in focus” report (‘the Report’) for the period July to December 2017, which includes insights into the work that the ACCC undertakes to protect franchisees. The Report includes statistics about the number of reports it receives about “Franchising Code related issues”…
Long service leave and resignation because of “domestic or other pressing necessity”
IntroductionAn issue which arises from time to time is, whether long service leave is payable where an employee leaves their employment due to some pressing personal domestic circumstance. Can an employer decline to pay long service leave in this situation?An employee’s entitlement to long service leave is regulated by State…
Redundancies: New case sheds some light on consultation and redeployment obligations
Depending on how an employer goes about things, terminating staff who are surplus to requirements, can have very different legal consequences. This article looks at the lessons for employers in this situation as apparent from decisions by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. The Fair Work…
Do “outer limits” employment contracts have a future?
Introduction The offering of a series of “fixed term” contracts to employees (often by the use of “outer limit” or “maximum term” contracts), has been seen as an attractive strategy for employing persons and then having their employment terminate without attracting the unfair dismissal provisions of industrial relations legislation. An “outer…
Franchisors beware: ACCC report highlights actions taken against franchisors
The ACCC has recently published its biannual “Small Business in Focus” report (“the Report”) which describes the work it has undertaken concerning small business, franchising and agriculture over the first six months of this year.[1] Part of the Report highlights the enforcement actions it has taken against franchisors for alleged…
Are dismissals genuine redundancies when employees have rejected a pay cut?
Consider this situation. You run Company A. Your business involves supplying a service to Company B. You have been providing this service at a set price for a number of years and engage a team of employees to facilitate the delivery of the service. Due to reasons outside of your control Company B indicates that…