External accountants fined $70,000 in Federal Court case brought by Fair Work Ombudsman
An accountancy firm and a principal advisor from the firm have been fined almost $70,000 for contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The firm was the accountant for a number of entities being investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman for failure to keep employee records in contravention of the Act.
Can my employer use a restraint of trade to prevent me from working for a competitor?
In this blog, we focus on one particular kind of restraint, the “non-compete” covenant, which is an obligation contained within a contract of employment that expresses itself as preventing an employee from working for one or more alternative employers or a certain class of them or establishing a competing business of their own.
$184,000 fine for employer who failed to pay entitlements on termination
When an employee resigned from her employment as General Manager at Atanaskovic Hartnell Corporate Services, the employer refused to pay her final pay entitlements, including outstanding wages, annual leave and long service leave. In Court proceedings, the employer was ordered to make payment but failed to do so within the 21-day requirement. Significant penalties were subsequently ordered.
Worker awarded over $130,000 compensation after employer breach of employment contract
In a significant win, Hall Payne has secured over $130,000 in compensation for an engineer, with the Court determining there had been a breach of his employment contract.
Worker's job reinstated after unfair dismissal
A recent decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has quashed a compensation order in an unfair dismissal matter and held reinstatement to be the appropriate remedy.
Sacked for serious misconduct – summary dismissals
We've noticed a spike in employees being terminated ‘summarily’ or without notice, for alleged serious misconduct since the COVID-19 pandemic started. So, what is serious misconduct and why might there be a spike? What can you be instantly terminated for and can you challenge being sacked summarily?