Latest News

Pre-Litigation Requirements (as at May 2011) - 24-Jun-2011
Recent legislative amendments spell big changes for the way in which lawyers and clients must now approach civil litigation matters, both at the State and Federal level. This information focuses on the State legislative requirements under amendments ..
Parental leave/Flexible work requests - 26-May-2011
Unilateral change to an employee’s role by an employer potentially amounts to constructive dismissal giving rise to a claim for compensation for an employee. The recent decision in Fair Work Australia (“FWA”) of Maria &ndas..
OHS Harmonisation - towards a national system in January 2012 - 25-May-2011
Employers must start preparing for the 2012 implementation of the model Occupational Health & Safety laws in order to ensure compliance with the new legislation. The Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council has approved model provisions ..
Enterprise Agreements - Australia Flexibility clauses - some tips to ensure approval - 24-May-2011
ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS 1.1. Approval by FWA (a) By way of background, it is worth noting that Fair Work Austalia ("FWA") does not have a general discretion under the Fair Work Act ("the Act") to determine whether an enterprise agreement sho..
The elephant in the room - What steps has your Club taken to deal with Mandatory pre-commitment - 23-May-2011
Most if not all Clubs would now be aware of the Federal Parliamentary Joint Select Committee report on gambling reform which was handed down in May 2011. The chair of the committee was Mr Andrew Wilkie MP. The report sets out in detail reco..
Fraser-Kirk v David Jones – Is your business protected from sexual harassment claims? - 22-May-2011
Employers need to ensure that adequate policies and procedures are in place to avoid and to mitigate against the risks posed by sexual harassment claims. In 2010, Australia's biggest ever sexual harassment case - Kristy Fraser-Kirk v David Jone..
Unfair Dismissal - is your business protected from unfair dismissal claims? - 21-May-2011
The introduction of the Fair Work Act and the new unfair dismissal laws in July 2009 has resulted in a significant increase in coverage of employees within the unfair dismissal claims jurisdiction. Since that time, statistics show that there has..
Intellectual property - Are you legally entitled to maintain the usage of your business name? - 20-May-2011
It is important that businesses take all necessary steps to protect their intellectual property to avoid the loss or damage to their branding and intellectual property. This issue often arises in circumstances where businesses in related industr..
Managing ill and injured Employees - 19-May-2011
Employers should focus on ensuring reasonable management action and preventative steps when managing ill or injured employees to avoid workers compensation claims/other claims and the significant adverse effects and costs that are caused by such cla..
Are you paying your Club employees the correct entitlements under the Modern Award - 18-May-2011
Most registered clubs and their employees are now covered by the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2010 since 1 January 2010 when modern awards introduced by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) commenced operation to replace awards that existed before tha..

Eastern Commercial Lawyers

Are you paying your Club employees the correct entitlements under the Modern Award

18-May-2011
Most registered clubs and their employees are now covered by the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2010 since 1 January 2010 when modern awards introduced by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) commenced operation to replace awards that existed before that date.

It is important to note that included in the Registered and Licensed Club Award 2010 are specific arrangements to assist those covered under it with making the transition.

The transitional arrangements have the effect of allowing for minimum wage rates and other entitlements such as loadings and penalties in pre-existing awards to be phased-in over a period of four years in 20% increments commencing on 1 July 2010.

This highlights the need for clubs is their capacity as employers to ensure that on 1 July of each year through to 2014 it carries out a recalculation of the wage rates and entitlements payable to its employees taking into account the transitional effects.

This will ensure compliance with the law. Failure to comply could result in underpayments being made and carries with it penalties of fines of $30,000 for corporations for each offence and orders by workplace authorities for employers to make back-payments to the underpaid employees.

As the second stage of the phasing-in process is due to commence on 1 July 2011 it may be timely for clubs to consider having their current wage rates and entitlements reviewed by a workplace lawyer as a good form of legal risk management.

Back