Victims of sexual harassment who bring a claim for compensation and, during that process, are involved in the negotiation of a settlement, are in our experience often asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. We look at your rights with NDAs.

It is common practice in Australia for a clause related to a probationary period to be included in your employment contract. In this blog, we explore entitlements and protections related to probation periods under the Fair Work Act, and other general rights and entitlements while on probation.

Misrepresentation involves providing false or misleading information that induces another party to act, leading to potential harm or loss. In the workplace, misleading and deceptive conduct by employees or employers can lead to financial, professional and legal consequences.

A lot of employees ask, ‘can I be defamed during a workplace investigation?’ Most workplace investigations will involve some form of allegation or accusation. Defamation laws exist to protect a person’s reputation, including protection from unfounded accusations.

A genuine redundancy occurs when an employee’s employment is terminated at the employer’s initiative because the employer no longer requires that job to be done by anyone. The exception to this is where the employment ends due to the “ordinary and customary turnover of labour”.

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.

If an employee wants to shortcut the workplace disciplinary process, or they’re having a tough time at work and want to look at negotiating an exit, they can consider making a ‘without prejudice’ offer to settle the dispute by offering to resign in return for a settlement payout.

The Fair Work Commission determines that a Church employee’s dismissal for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine was unfair and awards $8,000 in compensation.

Laws giving employees the right to refuse employer contact outside working hours came into effect from 26 August 2024 for employees of non-small businesses (15 or more employees). The same rights will become available for small business employees from 26 August 2025.

If you’ve been terminated and you believe that termination is harsh, unjust or unreasonable, you may be eligible for an unfair dismissal claim in the Fair Work Commission.

From 26 August 2024, the Fair Work Act definition of “employee” has changed. The changes were made to address issues related to the classification and treatment of independent contractors, ensuring fairer work conditions and protections for such workers.