Australia: Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Bill 2023

Labor introduced the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Bill 2023 (PWE Bill) into Parliament yesterday. The PWE Bill contains the second tranche of amendments to the Fair Work system. We have put together a summary of the changes proposed to the Fair Work Act and related legislation that addresses the following: making changes … Read more

Australia: Breaking the chains – ACCC Review of non-compete and no-poach provisions in employment contracts

The Federal Government has recently passed some of the most extensive industrial relation reforms seen in Australia with the view to providing stronger protections for workers, improving job security and gender equity. Employers could soon be facing further changes, with the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh MP (Leigh), suggesting the use … Read more

UK: Court of Appeal confirms limits on implied contractual indemnity and employer duty of care in relation to loss caused to employee by third party

Employers will welcome the Court of Appeal decision in Benyatov v Credit Suisse (Securities) Europe Ltd confirming that, as a matter of law, there is no implied contractual indemnity on an employer covering an employee for all losses suffered during the performance of their duties.  Employees will generally be entitled to repayment of any costs … Read more

Australia: Variation of the Professional Employees Award 2020

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has determined to vary the Professional Employees Award 2020 (Award) to clarify its coverage and introduce entitlements to overtime payments and penalty rates for certain professional employees, whilst excluding employees who receive at least 25% or more in excess of the minimum award annual wage from the major impact of … Read more

UK: Government to review SMCR rules as part of Edinburgh Reforms

Our Financial Services Regulatory team have prepared a series of webcasts examining the sweeping reforms to the UK financial services sector recently announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt – known as “the Edinburgh Reforms.” The webcasts explain: • what the key proposals are; • who they might impact; • next steps and … Read more

Australia: Privacy Act reform: What employers need to know

The recent spate of cyber attacks and data breaches in Australia has renewed focus on the Australian Government’s ongoing review of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). The new Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, had already promised “sweeping reforms” and a suite of proposals before the end of the year. However, expectations – of both the … Read more

Australia: Victorian Fair Jobs Code: New rules for businesses tendering for Victorian Government contracts

What is the Code? The Victorian Fair Jobs Code is being introduced by the Victorian Government to ensure that suppliers tendering for Victorian Government procurement contracts and businesses applying for significant business expansion grants are treating their workers “fairly” and are abiding by industrial laws and relevant health & safety regulations. Under the Code, suppliers … Read more

Global Employment Risk: An interactive guide

Since the onset of the pandemic, our global employment team has been monitoring the level and changing nature of risks around the world.  Whilst some trends have accelerated i.e. whistleblowing regulations, there are some new and important developments that pose significant employment risks. We have mapped these across the major financial centers using an interactive … Read more