The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has inserted a modern conversion clause from 1 October 2018 to more than 85 modern awards. This follows the FWC’s landmark ruling in July 2017 to provide certain casual employees with the right to request a conversion from casual employment to permanent employment.[1] What does this mean? The inclusion of
With the construction shutdown period around the corner, businesses must ensure they have proper procedures for the holidays. Claims made over the Christmas period require prompt response times and a failure to respond to claims under the security of payment legislation or the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) may have serious and detrimental effects on a
Many businesses in the construction industry, from project home builders through to subcontractors and manufacturers, look to franchising as an option to expand their business and market footprint. But before making the leap towards franchising a business, it’s important to understand what franchising is and what risks may be associated with that business model. What
As part of the Federal Government’s reforms to Australia’s insolvency laws under the National Innovation Science Agenda (Agenda) to promote entrepreneurship and encourage innovation, a new ipso facto stay regime became applicable to contracts from 1 July 2018. A link to our previous article on this topic can be found here. The ipso facto regime
Strict compliance is paramount if a party wants to exercise any rights they may have to demand upon a bank guarantee. A recent Supreme Court case in Queensland highlighted that a failure to strictly comply with any requirements may mean the demand fails[1]. In Santos Limited v BNP Paribas [2018] QSC 106, Fluor Australia Pty
What is superannuation? Superannuation is the money that is set aside over your employee’s lifetime to provide for their retirement. Under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth) the employer has obligations to provide a portion of the employee’s salary or wages into a superannuation fund. This is called a superannuation guarantee contribution or concessional
Currently before NSW Parliament is the proposed introduction of a long awaited anti-slavery law in Australia, the Modern Slavery Bill 2018. While we wait to hear whether this Bill is formally passed, we provide a brief overview of what the new laws are designed to do, what the current status is and who the new
After locking horns in a contentious employment dispute, parties commonly ask if they can recover costs incurred before the Fair Work Commission (Commission). On one hand, the Commission is designed to be a simple and less formal Court to resolve disputes between employees and employers, in particular for claims of Unfair Dismissal or individual remedies
As businesses make the switch to paper-free workplaces it is more important to understand the requirements for valid and enforceable electronic execution of documents. What are electronic signatures and electronic execution? Electronic signatures are simply defined as a visual representation of a person’s name or signature used in an electronic document. This can include the
Owners corporations now face a new window safety regime as a result of the introduction of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016, which seeks to increase child protection measures in relation to common property windows in strata property building complexes. Since 13 March 2018, owners corporations (more commonly known as body corporate) have been required