Adelaide University Professor of Law Andrew Stewart says he expects the Closing Loopholes Bill to be substantially amended before it is passed into law, to narrow some provisions and add others, giving employers time to "start thinking about the implications" and prepare for "big and important changes".
IR academic Chris F Wright has urged the Senate inquiry into the Closing Loopholes Bill to "recommend support" for the legislation, which he says is needed to update a regulatory framework that has "not adapted to fundamental changes in the labour market".
Legal limits on the scope of bargaining mean that safety laws might provide a better avenue to address workplace climate change impacts than using enterprise agreements, according to an IR law academic.
A union involved in more than 20% of the FWC's s448A compulsory conciliation conferences since they started in June says they come with a significant "risk versus reward overlay" that threatens to derail protected action and an "urgent fix" is required.
The FWC's national practice leader for bargaining says "almost all" members are issuing directions in addition to attendance orders ahead of compulsory post-PABO conciliations and appear to be regularly making recommendations during the conferences.
A court has ordered a worker to pay indemnity costs for her former employer's defence of a general protections claim, after she ignored legal advice and refused six settlement offers reaching up to $40,000, because she considered them "hush money".
Federal Parliament has passed a trio of bills that establish the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service as an independent statutory HR agency and overhaul employment arrangements for parliamentary staff.
Victoria's Andrews Labor government says the FWC should order a "confined" four-week period of post-declaration bargaining if it grants the IBD sought by the UFU in a bid to break a deadlock with Fire Rescue Victoria.
Employers can comply with the new "positive duty" to eliminate sexual harassment and sex discrimination by fostering a respectful culture, ensuring workers have avenues to report incidents, and taking a "risk-based" approach to prevention, according to Human Rights Commission guidance.
