The Federal public sector gender pay gap has more than halved in a year, falling from 13.5% to 6.4%, but employers could still improve on men's uptake of paid parental leave, according to a new WGEA report that includes individual agencies' remuneration disparities for the first time.
The WGEA has published a menu of gender equality targets that employers with 500 or more employees can draw from in preparation for next year's lodgement deadline, along with a "workflow" timeline, selection guidance, and list of frequently asked questions and their answers.
Australia "remains a global laggard" on work/family benefits and the next federal government should extend paid parental leave to 52 weeks, split carers and personal leave into separate 10-day entitlements, and investigate extending personal/carers and annual leave to casual workers, according to an academic group's report.
Only a quarter of scientists who sought assistance from HR after experiencing bullying or intimidation found them supportive, while 39% found HR "useless" and 19% said they "actively made things worse", according to a survey conducted by Griffith University academics.
A Senate inquiry is calling for guidance on what will qualify as a "reasonable excuse" for failing to comply with a Bill requiring employers with 500 or more workers to set new publicly-tracked gender equality targets that could determine eligibility for government contracts, while the Greens want to lower the threshold to 100 or more employees.
A parliamentary inquiry has recommended the Albanese Government consider amending the Fair Work Act's right to request flexible work to ensure menopausal women can access it, while it also wants reproductive leave added to the NES and awards.
Unions will bargain for artificial intelligence "productivity clauses" to ensure workers are paid a "fair share" of additional wealth created by the technology rather than just generating "super profits" for employers, under a new ACTU policy.
Artificial intelligence HR and hiring tools pose "significant risks" for workplaces, according to an equality law expert who is calling for an enforceable positive duty on employers, while a recruitment body has told a Senate inquiry there should be an industry standard.
Workers who subscribe to common "sexual harassment myths" are 16 times more likely than others to use digital communications to sexually harass their colleagues, according to a new paper that also suggests that employers had been poorly prepared for related issues arising from the pandemic-driven shift to working from home.
Most universities now have cultural workload allowances for First Nations employees in their agreements that recognise the often unseen cultural education guidance they provide, with WA's Murdoch University the latest to adopt the entitlement, according to the NTEU.
