Redundancy Case Update - What Employers Need to Know
If your business is thinking about a restructure, a recent High Court decision matters to you—even if you’re not a big company. In Helensburgh Coal Pty Ltd v Bartley [2025] HCA 29 (6 August 2025), the High Court clarified how “genuine redundancy” is
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Purchase of Property and the Fair Work Act
By Ben Schefe We are currently assisting a client with the purchase of a building that has led to some unintended consequences relating to the transfer of business provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“FWA”). Relevant Background A brief sum
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Employee v Contractor: Are your contracts iron clad?
By Ben Schefe A common issue that continues to arise is how businesses classify their workers – ie are the workers independent contractors or employees? There have been two recent decisions handed down by the High Court that confirm how critical a
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The alignment of statute and common law: defining a casual employee
On 27 March 2021 the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery Act 2021 (Cth) (“Amending Legislation”) amended the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“FWA”) and inserted a definition of “casual employee”. This new definition provi
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THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYING CORRECT WAGES AND SUPERANNUATION
THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYING CORRECT WAGES AND SUPERANNUATIONIn some recent examples, discussed below, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has shown that ensuring that employers comply with their obligation to pay staff at their correct statutory rates, is a f
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Are your casual employees really casual? The importance of correctly defining employment
Casual employees are usually employees who do not have regular hours of work and do not have a guarantee of continued work. They also do not receive the same annual leave and personal leave entitlements (and other entitlements) that full time and par
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