In Hughes v Hill, the Full Federal Court emphatically dismissed a solicitor’s appeal against a finding that he had sexually harassed a paralegal and against damages which he asserted were “manifestly excessive”. In doing so, the Court made it clear that the highest level of damages (both general and aggravated) will be available – and justified … Read more

As we hit mid year, the employment landscape across Asia has started to move away from only focussing on Covid-19 related emergency measures. Our Asia Employment, Pensions and Incentives update this month looks at: the recent decision in Malaysia in Ahmad Zahriv AIMS Cyberjaya Sdn BHd in relation to fixed term employment contracts; the restrictions … Read more

June has been a busy month for employment updates in Hong Kong. Long awaited amendments to Hong Kong’s discrimination have taken effect from 19 June, with changes to maternity leave expected to pass soon. Measures to ensure ORSO schemes are genuinely employment-based will kick in on 26 June 2020. Finally, the applications for the first … Read more

On 5 March 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commission released its fourth national survey on Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces. The report has wide-ranging implications for employers – from a policy perspective and what it means to the culture of the workplace. In case you missed it, the Employment, IR and Safety team hosted a … Read more

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the Government Equalities Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have this morning suspended enforcement of the gender pay gap deadlines for this reporting year (2019/20). The decision means that there will be no expectation on employers to report their data.  See the announcement here. Read more

On 5 March 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) released its long-awaited report on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, “Respect@Work”. The report is the culmination of an 18-month inquiry, led by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins. It is comprehensive and data-driven, and concludes (amongst other things) that the current legal framework is, in … Read more

A number of recent cases (see our blog post here) have grappled with the question of what amounts to a protected philosophical belief for the purposes of discrimination law, reflecting a growing trend of claimants seeking to push the boundaries (in some cases because of a lack of eligibility to claim unfair dismissal). Previous case … Read more

Our Asia Employment, Pensions and Incentives update this month looks at: the initial public holiday changes and subsequent extensions issued by various provinces in China, following the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus; an overview of changes to various employment legislation in South Korea, including changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, the … Read more