Before COVID-19 and the recent layoffs at Twitter Inc., the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act maintained a low profile; the act did not garner significant media attention, and cases alleging violations of the act were limited and largely routine. An explanation for this, at least in part, is that the WARN Act … Read more

The Hong Kong District Court has re-confirmed that ‘internal’ injuries suffered by employees are not compensable under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) (ECO) if they are not caused by an accident that happened at work. This issue arose in a recent Hong Kong District Court decision 馮应培 v CHINA STATE – SHUI ON JOINT … Read more

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

On 27 September 2022, the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 (Bill) was introduced into the House of Representatives.  The much-anticipated Bill proposes to implement seven of the remaining legislative recommendations from the 2020 Jenkins’ Respect@Work Report. Read more

In a recent Hong Kong District Court decision Chow Kai Yan v Kingsway Cars T Service Ltd [2022] HKDC 165, the Court confirmed that an employee who suffered a stroke at work had not sustained an “injury by accident” which would entitle him to statutory compensation under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance (Cap.282) (ECO). This case … Read more

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has taken his first step to limit the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) by stripping its powers “to the bare legal minimum” and introducing an interim building code. Read more

This week, the Victorian Government released its response to the recommendations of the Ministerial Taskforce on Workplace Sexual Harassment. In its response, the Victorian Government has acknowledged that work-related gendered violence and workplace sexual harassment are OHS issues, and accepted 21 of the Taskforce’s 26 recommendations (either entirely, or in part or in principle). Read more

A recent tribunal ruling serves as a reminder that employers dealing with an employee off sick with ‘long Covid’ should carefully consider whether the individual could be disabled within the statutory definition, bearing in mind evidence that it is common for symptoms to fluctuate and that some individuals do continue to suffer for 12 months. … Read more