wage freeze is AFPC's last act

Well they certainly went out the way the came in-in a wave of controversy.

In their last act before coming extinct, the AFPC announced today that there would be no increase to the minimum wage.This decision is not subject to appeal and cannot be reviewed.The minumum wage will next be reviewed in 6 months time by Fair Work Australia.

You can expect employer groups to come out in applause and employees reps to be highly critical.Ofcourse there arguments on both sides for why the decision was fair or not.The employers will no doubt say that it will lead to more jobs being saved and the unions will say that it respresents a net loss of income for employees once inflation is taken into account.
You can see the arguments on both sides however it easy to imagine that those who drafted the Workchoices legislation perhaps did not envisiage the quandry that members of the AFPC were to be in, so shortly after its formation(where it was possible that wages would be frozen).

What does it all mean for employers?If you pay employees the minimum wage you will not need to increase wages for at least another six months.This also goes for those employers that may have paid slightly above the minimum wage who usually would increase wages by a similar amount to continue to keep above the minimum wage.

the time has come...to say fair's fair

With a nod to the famous line from the Midnight Oil song about another hot topic, today is the today that new newest wave of Industrial legislation hits Australian Business.

From July 1, all Australian companies will be liable for unfair dismissal once again.This blog and our main website have covered in detail the issues that will face Business and it in cludes a "return" to good faith bargaining in the workplace.

The question is.Are you ready?

confidential information

There was an interesting article in the Financial review yesterday , the title of which was "Client lists a hot issue when staff jump ship"

The article suggested that than was an increase in companies taking action against employees who leave and go to a competitor and take confidential information such as client lists with them.This certainly accords with my experience overs the past 18 months.

There are some lessons to be learned however, if employers want to go down this road.The first and foremost is that they need to have proper protection of their confidential information and the starting point is their employment contract.If a company does not have a well drafted clause concerning confidentail information in its employment contract it may as well kiss that information goodbye when an employee leaves with it.No court is going to support a company's claim for protection if the confidential information clause in the contract is non existant or poorly drafted.

The clause must be specific in terms of including the information that is to be protected but also wide enough to capture all of that information.
A policy which informs employees of their obligations regarding transferring information to memory sticks of Home computers is also advisable.

There are also other ways to protect this information such as having the employees go on gardening leave when they resign and these should be referenced in the contract..Properly drafted restraint clauses will assist-in this regard there has been an increased incidence of employers being able to uphold such restraints provided they are reasonable and well crafted.

Confidential information such as trade secrets and client lists are often vital in an employer maintaining its competitive edge.Don't lose that edge by not attending to a basic business hygiene issue such as your employments contracts.

July 1-are you going to be ready?

July 1 is fast approaching and many businesses I speak to have not yet focused on what it will need to do to comply with the new unfair dismissal laws.

There is no one size fits all method which will govern business when dealing with performance management and terminating employees.People have talked about a return to the "three strikes and out" policy and that it probably a good guide to follow.The imporatnt part though is ensuring that when you have poor performance meetings and conversations that these are documented so that a paper trail is created that can be referred to and relied upon in the event of dispute.

So, if we are using the "three strikes" policy, what does that mean and how do we measure when warnings should be given?The basic rule of thumb is that the employer will need to give an employee a reasonable opportunity to fix up their performance.Next question:so what does THAT mean.

Each situation will be different but essentially in any discinplinary meeting where warnings are given the employer will need to make clear

• what part of the role is being done poorly
• how the employer expects the employee to perform that role/duties in the future giving specific goals to be achieved
• provide a reasonable timeframe for review allowing for a proper assessment of performance to be made
• note when the next meeting for review will be

The more specific the expectations about improved performance, the better.What is a reasonable time frame?This will also depend on what is being measured.In most circumstances a period of less than a month will be seen as not long enough a period to properly measure performance but this will not always be the case.For example, if an employee is failing to produce a weekely report which is part of their expected duties, it could be expected that a reasonable time frame for assessment of performance maybe the very next week that the report is due.A failure to provide that report may entitle the employer to provide a further warning.

There a lots of trips and traps in this process and I recommend a proper process be put in place which can be easily followed by those who manage staff.

the budget and paid maternity leave

In somewhat of a surprise given the Global Economic Climate, the Government has announced that it will indeed introduce a paid maternity leave scheme.Many pundits, including myself, had concluded that the Government would probably postpone the scheme and it is certainly a welcome innitiative from both a community and business perspective.
The details are

• it will apply to all primary care givers
• the payments will be for 18 weeks at the Federal minimum wage
• the leave must be taken within 12 months of the birth or adoption of the child
• it is means tested to employees earning less than 15ok per year
• employees will have to have worked for 10 of the previous 13 months to apply
• contractors, casuals and self employed will be included

I see it as a real plus for business, particularly as the Government will fully fund the leave period.It will mean that a valuable resource to a business can be retained as it will provide a real incentive for working parents to remain in the workforce.Well done to the Government.Whilst long overdue it is better late than not at all

and now its law

Well it's through.Finally.I am a little late commenting on this as I am still getting over another tough loss for the beloved Sea Eagles.....don't mention the wooden spoon, anyone!

After a day of high drama on Friday, Julia Gillard struck a deal with Senator Fielding on a compromised position for the definition of small business.

What is going to happen is this.From 1 July this year small business will be measured as a business that has fewer the the equivilant of 15 full time employees.A full time employee will be measured as one whose previous 12 months weekly earnings are at a full time rate.(see main site for details).

That is the part the Senator wanted.

However, from 1 January 2011, the position will revert to what the Government wanted;fewer than 15 employees, no matter the classification.

So everyone's a winner unless you believe some of the media commentators(and the government!) who say that the oppostion was effectively sidelined in the debate.

Either way, it's goodbye Workchoices and Hello, "Fair Work Australia"....

Welcome to the BlandsLaw Blog: Fair Work Bill passed in Senate(sort of...)

Welcome to the BlandsLaw Blog: Fair Work Bill passed in Senate(sort of...)