By Murray Procter and Ben Keenan The ongoing high profile legal dispute between the former Managing Director of the ABC, Michelle Guthrie, and the national broadcaster is merely the latest example of the reputational and financial cost to employers that can arise...
Amendments to Act to make enterprise bargaining less technical?
The enterprise agreement making process requires adherence to strict legislative steps before employees are allowed to vote on an agreement. Some may recall the difficult lesson learned by Peabody Energy in 2014, when its hard fought enterprise agreement was scuttled...
Small business loans: it’s not so “take it or leave it” anymore!
By Chris Kintis and Elle Zhang In March this year, ASIC published a report on how the unfair contract terms regime applies to loans made to small businesses. Generally, a loan contract will fall within this regime if at least one of the parties has fewer than 20...
The seven things you need to do right now if you employ casual employees
By Murray Procter and Ashlee Miller Employers around Australia are grappling with the effect of a recent decision of the Full Federal Court1, which found that employers must pay annual leave to wider categories of employees than previously thought. This wider...
Don’t let time pass you by – Understanding Limitation Periods in Bringing a Claim
From time to time in business it may become necessary to enforce your legal rights by way of Court action. You may, for example, need to enforce the terms of a contract, seek redress for negligence or enforce your statutory rights. If you do find yourself in that...
Bar raised again for employers seeking approval of enterprise agreements
Do think you’ve successfully made an enterprise agreement because the agreement was approved by a ballot of employees and by the Fair Work Commission? Think again. This year, the Full Federal Court overturned an enterprise agreement two and half years after it was...
ANNOUNCEMENT: ClarkeKann’s Judd Last named in 2018 Doyle’s Guide
We are excited to announce that the efforts and achievements of our Retirement Living, Aged Care & Manufactured Home Estates Partner Judd Last have been recognised in the 2018 Doyle’s Guide to Australia’s best legal firms and lawyers, in the following categories:...
Check your timesheets – in excess of $120,000 in penalties for Employer who failed to keep time and wages records
By Murray Procter and Blair McAuliffe The case of Fair Work Ombudsman v Pulis Plumbing Pty Ltd & Anor serves as a warning to employers that a failure to comply with employee records obligations not only leads to significant penalties, but highlights that employers...
How to make an employee redundant and avoid legal risk
Redundancy is a legitimate reason for terminating employment. However, managers need to ensure proper process is followed to avoid unfair dismissal and adverse action claims under the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). What is a redundancy? Positions are made redundant, not...
The great escape: can the guarantee you signed be enforced?
Personal guarantees are extremely common. Chances are, one day you’ll be required to sign one –perhaps as a company director, or maybe as a parent when helping your child obtain finance for their first home. Often such guarantees are provided without much thought,...
ClarkeKann’s John Toigo featured in QUT Faculty of Law Alumni Spotlight
As published on the QUT Faculty of Law website on 21 February 2018. The original article can be viewed here. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1984, John Toigo has journeyed to Chairman of ClarkeKann Lawyers and leads the firm's Corporate Transactions &...
ANNOUNCEMENT: ClarkeKann’s Murray Procter named in 2018 Doyle’s Guide
We are delighted to announce that the efforts and achievements of our Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety Partner Murray Procter have been recognised in the 2018 Doyle’s Guide to Australia’s best legal firms and lawyers, in the following categories:...