On 19 June 2020, the Annual Wage Review 2019-2020 decision was handed down by the Fair Work Commission. This decision followed the review of the national minimum wage (“NMW”) and modern award (“Award”) minimum wages for the next financial year. This year’s review was unprecedented. The Commission highlighted the extraordinary shock of COVID-19 to the [...]
The Pitfalls of JobKeeper and COVID-19 Work Practices The JobKeeper scheme is an ambitious lifeline to employers, codified in legislation less than two weeks after its initial announcement. However, the scheme’s fine print and changing work practices due to COVID-19 may create unforeseen complications for employers. This article considers 4 such examples. Employees may [...]
Governments around the world have adopted a range of contemporary economic solutions to the COVID-19 crisis. The JobKeeper package is no exception. On 9 April 2020, the Australian Government introduced the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020 (Cth). These rules outline the requirements for employer and employee eligibility to JobKeeper payments. Some of the [...]
Employment laws have never changed more rapidly. On 8 April 2020, the Federal Government introduced the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Act 2020 (Cth). This legislation amends the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) as part of the new JobKeeper scheme. Importantly, it provides employers with more options to manage wage costs. [...]
COVID-19 has created a fast-changing workplace relations space. There have never been so many options available to businesses to manage their wage costs. More are likely to come. Below are six ways for employers to (currently) manage wage costs. 1. Stand down Many businesses are standing down employees. However, employers should tread carefully before doing [...]
