Sex in the Office
Context: “Two of our Managers were found having sex in the bathroom – what should we do?” First and foremost – an awkward situation if there ever was one! The Issue: It’s tempting for many Senior Managers to avoid the issue of sex in the workplace due to the uncomfortable nature of the topic, and […]
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Modern Awards: Dont Risk a Fine!
“Employees who sign a contract aren’t covered by an award, are they?” Context: It’s a common misconception that the Modern Awards do not apply to their staff because they are paid an agreed salary. The Issue: The truth of the matter is that almost all employees are covered by Modern Awards, even if they weren’t […]
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Terminating an Employee
Why does it take so long to terminate an employee? Well basically, the reason for this is that one of the highest areas of risk for any business when terminating employment is the risk that the employee will claim Unfair Dismissal. For that reason, performance management can be a lengthy process – after all, there […]
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Redundancy – Make sure you follow the rules
“We are going to make an employee redundant, what do we need to do?” Redundancy is often perceived by employers to be the fastest and easiest way to terminate an employee’s employment – however in reality, it is a time consuming and often expensive path to take. There are two primary reasons for this – […]
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Privacy laws are changing – are you ready for 12 March 2014?
It’s true, another legislative change is due to occur, and we’re only two months into 2014! This time it’s Australia’s Privacy Act 1988 that is being updated. In March 2014, the existing National Privacy Principles will be replaced by 13 new Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) which will require organisations to modify the way they currently […]
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HR On-Demand
At Talent Code, we talk to Small Businesses every day, and we hear the struggle they face from both a financial and resource perspective when trying to ensure their compliance with the Fair Work Act and Work Health and Safety legislation. We’ve heard our customer’s need for a simple, easy and cost effective way to […]
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Unfair Dismissal
If I terminate an employee and they claim Unfair Dismissal, how do I know they won’t be reinstated? The short answer unfortunately is that you don’t, however a recent claim heard by the Fair Work Commission has shed some light on what factors will be considered when deciding if an employee should be reinstated following […]
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Pre-employment Medicals – When are they appropriate?
Does your workplace require potential employees undertake a pre-employment medical? If so, have you reviewed the legal implications and risks of doing so? The reasoning behind requiring pre-employment medicals may appear to be common sense – after all it is an employer’s obligation to comply with their duty of care to protect the health and […]
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Are you underpaying your staff?
Are you underpaying your staff without realising it? Despite the years that have passed since the introduction of Modern Awards, because of their complex nature, many businesses still don’t have a firm grasp on employee entitlements, leaving them exposed to legal fees, penalties and reimbursement. This is often a result of missing entitlements (such as […]
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Do you review your employment contracts?
2 Key reasons to review your employment contracts In this day and age, most businesses are aware of the importance of having contracts of employment – but more often than not, once these documents are written they’re simply saved as templates and never reviewed again; a practice that could put your business at risk. With […]
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