Introduction "Since our employees are on annual salaries well above award rates, we don’t need to worry about underpayments.” This commonly held view amongst employers and HR professionals is now in tatters following the landmark Federal Court decision in Fair Work Ombudsman v Woolworths Group Limited & Ors [2025] FCA 1092 (Decision). [...]
On 17 September 2025, WestmoreJacobs presented an in-person seminar “Redeployment and other Cautionary Tales in Employment Law”. We talked about the recent High Court decision of Helensburgh Coal Pty Ltd v Bartley and other cautionary tales regarding contractor/employee distinction, reasonable notice and workplace policies. It was a great chance to discuss the implications of [...]
Introduction The recent High Court decision in Helensburgh Coal v Bartley [2025] HCA 29 (Helensburgh) adds to the challenges employers must navigate to avoid successful unfair dismissal claims arising from redundancies. After a lengthy history of litigation and unsuccessful appeals spanning around 5 years, the High Court has effectively confirmed that employers should consider anticipated [...]
Introduction The debate around working from home is heating up! Not even Jim Chalmers’ recent Economic Reform Roundtable could avoid getting sucked into the fight – overshadowing other more pressing issues to fixing Australia’s lagging productivity. There is certainly no shortage of views about working from home (WFH). The Allan Labor government has dipped [...]
On 2 July 2025, WestmoreJacobs presented an in-person seminar “More Employment Law Changes on the Horizon". We covered proposed reforms to non-compete clauses in employment contracts, potential legislative intervention to protect penalty rates in Modern Awards, Australia’s lagging productivity and fixing the rules for fixed-term contracts. It was a great chance to share practical [...]
Introduction Technology has become central to how employers manage their workforces, particularly following the widespread adoption of remote and hybrid work. Surveillance tools have rapidly evolved, from traditional CCTVs to more advanced methods such as biometric scanning and AI-based analytics. In response to these complications, on 15 May 2025 the Economy and Infrastructure Committee [...]
On 28 May 2025, WestmoreJacobs presented a webinar “Workplace Investigations: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”. Here we delved into the sometimes-mysterious world of workplace investigations.
WestmoreJacobs presented an in-person seminar on "Cautionary Tales in Employment Law", on 9 April 2025. We talked about cases and practical examples of mistakes we see employers make in the field of employment law. We covered contractor/employee distinction, reasonable notice, workplace policies and the vexed issue of whether contractors should be let go to [...]
WestmoreJacobs presented an in-person seminar on “Dismissing Ill or Injured Employees”, on 19 March 2025. We explored common mistakes employers make when dismissing ill or injured employee. We talked about navigating WorkCover, managing unfair dismissal, general protections and discrimination risk and the do's and don'ts of dismissing employees who have become incapable of performing [...]
Introduction While 2025 is certainly underway, this article looks back to 2024 for those keen to catch up on case law developments last year. Qantas Airways Limited v Transport Workers Union of Australia [2023] HCA 27 “At a high level of generality, the historical arc of the protections against adverse action has generally tended [...]
