4 forms of workplace discrimination you need to be aware of

There’s no doubt about it – discrimination issues can cause major problems in your workplace.

Stressed employees, increased absenteeism, lawsuits and claims… the list goes on.

And you need to remember that discrimination can occur in all aspects of employment, so it’s something you should keep in mind when dealing with any workplace issue.

Here are 4 common forms of workplace discrimination you need to be aware of at all times:

1.  Age discrimination – You cannot treat someone unfairly or differently simply because of their age.

2.  Race discrimination – Race discrimination means unfair treatment on the basis of the person’s race, and/or the people they live or associate with including relatives, friends or work colleagues.

3.  Sex discrimination – Sex discrimination occurs when you treat someone of one sex less favourably than someone of the other sex. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you are the same sex as the person being discriminated against.

4.  Criminal record discrimination – Criminal record discrimination occurs when you discriminate against someone on the basis of their criminal record. Discrimination laws based on criminal records vary between the States and territories.

The Employment Law Practical Handbook contains detailed and actionable information on each of these 4 forms of workplace discrimination, and it also offers you all the practical information you need to avoid breaching discrimination laws.

For example, in chapter D1 Discrimination and Equal Opportunity, you’ll discover:

• How to avoid discriminating against employees in 6 common aspects of employment… more information on Page D1/9
• 4 ways to eliminate discrimination from your recruitment process – for good…
  more information on Page D1/12
• 10 ways to tell if your workplace is “equal opportunity” – and how to fix it if it’s not… more on Page D1/22
• 8 ways to protect yourself from being held vicariously liable for the discriminatory actions of your employees… learn more on Page D1/24

5 things your business needs to know NOW
about paid parental leave

On 1 January 2011, the Federal Government’s paid parental leave scheme became law in all Australian workplaces.

It’s one of the biggest changes to workplace law in a long time – and it’s imperative that you make sure your business is up to speed with all its new obligations.

But there’s no need to worry – the Employment Law Practical Handbook will help you ensure your business is completely up to date with all its new requirements.

For example, here are 5 things your business must know now about paid parental leave:

1. 1. All eligible employees who are parents of children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2011 are entitled to receive 18 weeks of paid parental leave at the Federal Minimum Wage rate (which since 1 July 2011, is $589.30 per week before tax).
2. To be eligible for the scheme, an employee must:

• have worked at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of the child, with no more than an 8-week gap between 2 consecutive work days;
• have worked for at least 330 hours of paid work in that 10-month period (which is just over one day of paid work a week);
• not have worked between the date of birth or adoption of the child and their nominated start date for PPL;
• have an income of $150,000 gross or less in the financial year prior to the birth or adoption of the child or the date of their claim, whichever is earlier (indexed in line with the baby bonus); and
• be an Australian resident.

3. The scheme is funded by the Federal Government, but you will be required to pay eligible employees via their usual payroll cycle. In other words, you will pass on PPL payments to employees in the same way you would pay wages. If you are required to provide PPL to one of your employees, you will be contacted by the Federal Department of Human Services’ Family Assistance Office and asked to provide them with information, including your:

• business bank account details;
• employee’s pay cycle details;
• business name;
• Australian Business Number (ABN); and
• contact details.

This will ensure that you receive the PPL funds from the government (to pass on to your employee).

4. PPL is separate and additional to any other obligation you may have in relation to parental leave. The PPL scheme will have no effect on a pre-existing right your employees have to paid parental leave, or paid annual leave or long service leave. You must pay these entitlements in full, regardless of whether the employee is entitled to, and receiving, PPL. Further, you cannot offset PPL against any leave benefits that you are legally required to provide employees.
5. Paid parental leave doesn’t count for the purposes of superannuation guarantee contributions, payroll tax or workers’ compensation premiums.

Remember, even though the money for paid parental leave won’t be coming out of your pocket, you’re still legally responsible for ensuring your employees receive their entitlements.

But there’s no need to worry, because the Employment Law Practical Handbook will show you everything you need to know about paid parental leave.

By taking a free trial of the handbook, you’ll find the following practical information (along with much more!) in chapter L7 Parental Leave:

• 6 ways the National Employment Standards have affected your employees’ parental leave entitlements… more information on Page L7/4
• The 3 essential steps you must take when directing an employee to take unpaid parental leave – if you don’t take them, you could be held liable… more information on Page L7/13
• A 5-point checklist to help you know exactly what to do if a pregnant employee wishes to work in the 6-week period before the expected birth date… more information on Page L7/21
• How paid parental leave will affect your employees’ unpaid parental leave rights under the Fair Work Act… more information on Page L7/24
• How paid parental leave rights can be transferred between primary carers… find out on Page L7/24

How to prevent your employees from accruing
too much annual leave

There’s no doubt about it – employees who accrue massive amounts of annual leave can be a huge burden on your business.

Why?

Because the more accrued liability builds up, the more it can cause your business to have significant cash flow problems.

But there are ways you can combat this…

Here are 4 things you can try:

1. Direct your employees to take annual leave – even if they don’t want to!

Under the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act, you can direct employees to take annual leave if it is reasonable to do so. However, if you are subject to an award or enterprise agreement, you will need to check whether you have this right.

2. Shut down part or all of your business

You might be able to implement a ’shut down’ of all or part of your business, e.g. the sales department or the warehouse. You can maintain skeleton staff during a shut down for safety reasons, provided that the business or part of it is not actually operating. If the Fair Work Act applies to you, employees must take accrued annual leave during a shut-down period – even if they don’t want to.

3. Cash out leave

Under the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act, you may reach an agreement with an employee to cash out a certain amount of their accrued paid annual leave. However, if the employee is covered by an award or enterprise agreement, the relevant instrument must include a term that allows this to occur.

4. Pay for annual leave in advance

If you do not have the right to cash-out leave you may be able to pay for annual leave ‘in advance’. This can occur on the basis that this amount will be deducted from any annual leave payment made to the employee upon the termination of their employment. If you decide to do this, you may wish to reach an informal understanding with the employee that they will not take the leave they were paid in advance for.

The Employment Law Practical Handbook will show you exactly what you can do to stop your employees from accruing too much annual leave – but that’s not all the handbook can help you with.

Here’s just a quick sample of more practical information you’ll find in chapter L3 Annual Leave:

• How to apply the ‘no detriment test’ correctly… more information on Page L3/5
• 4 ways to tell if it is reasonable for you to require an employee to take annual leave … more information on Page L3/9
• 2 occasions when it is reasonable for you to request an employee to take annual leave… more information on Page L3/9
• 2 circumstances in which you must pay annual leave loading … more information on Page L3/12

4 ways to stop your employees abusing
their personal leave entitlements

It’s one of the trickiest situations an employer can face…

When an employee is consistently late to work or abuses their personal leave entitlements.

Often, it seems like there’s not much you can do about it, because as much as you’d love to confront your employees who constantly take sick days – or even sack them for repeated absences – there are a number of laws you must abide by.

As unfair and frustrating as it is, getting it wrong could leave you exposed to an unfair dismissal or discrimination claim – and a whole heap of bother you don’t need.

But you don’t need to just give in!

Instead of having to deal with the productivity-sapping effects of sickies, you can help to stop your employees from abusing their personal leave with just 4 clever moves…

1. Identify the causes for an employee’s absenteeism. If you can find out why an employee is consistently absent, you can deal more effectively with the problem. For example, if an employee is often absent because of issues with childcare, you could offer them the option of more flexible working hours…
2. Implement a thorough record system. For each employee, you should record the date, duration and reason for each case of absenteeism. This way you will have evidence of each absence if you need to refer back to them. These records could win you a dismissal case…
3. Meticulously follow up on each case of absenteeism. You should write a letter recording each case of absenteeism and distribute it to the employee. This will make them aware they are being monitored…
4. Properly inform and regularly update your employees about your standards and policies regarding absenteeism. If you make a change to your absenteeism policy, make sure you let your employees know. Even if you don’t make a change, you should still remind your employees regularly of the standards you have in place. You could do this via a company-wide email or memo.

The Employment Law Practical Handbook will show you exactly what you can do to deal with employees who abuse their personal leave entitlements legally – in simple, practical terms.

But that’s not all the handbook can help you with – here’s just a quick sample of the practical information on personal leave you’ll find in chapter A1 Absenteeism and chapter L10 Personal/Carer’s leave:

• How to challenge an employee who takes frequent “sickies”… more information on Page A1/4
• How to get accurate medical information about an employee – and determine whether their absences are really necessary… more information on Page A1/5
• An 8-step process to help you discipline employees who are consistently late or absent from work… more information on Page A1/7
• What you need to do if an employee has used all their paid personal/carer’s leave entitlements in a year… more information on page L10/10
• 6 things you must do before you allow an employee to cash out paid personal/carer’s leave… more information on page L10/12

How to calculate your employees’ long
service leave entitlements

One employment law issue that ties Aussie employers up in knots more than any other is employee leave.

And it’s not surprising…

Not only are there a number of different types of leave, but there is also a seemingly never-ending list of requirements and obligations you must abide by.

Long service leave is no exception – as an employer, it’s your responsibility to know which of your employees are entitled to long service leave, when they can take it and how much they are entitled to.

And calculating an employee’s long service leave entitlement is no easy feat – while the basic measure of pay used to calculate long service leave is ‘ordinary pay’, certain other payments must also be included in your calculation depending on which state you operate in.

But there’s no need for you to worry…

Chapter L6 Long Service Leave in the Employment Law Practical Handbook lists every single payment that you need to include – and the ones you don’t – in a simple State-by-State chart.

Calculating LSL will be a breeze if you’ve got a copy of the Employment Law Practical Handbook on your desk…

Here’s just a sample of the practical information you’ll find in chapter L6 Long Service Leave:

• When your employees can cash out their long service leave – and when they can’t… more information on Page L6/4
• Why it’s imperative that you start keeping long service leave records as soon as an employee commences employment… more information on Page L6/6
• When you have to start showing your employees’ long service leave accruals in your financial records… more information on Page L6/6
• Your long service leave obligations – State-by-State… more information on Page L6/7

Are You Confused About Your Employees’ Leave Entitlements?

Not surprisingly, one of the topics that ties employers up in knots more than any other is leave.

For starters, there are so many different types – long service leave, adoption leave, parental leave, annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, compassionate leave, community service leave, the list goes on.

And not only that, but each different type of leave has very specific requirements you must abide by.

But there’s no need to worry.

The Employment Law Practical Handbook will keep you in the know when it comes to your employees’ leave entitlements.

Here’s just a sample of the kind of practical information you’ll find in the Employment Law Practical Handbook on leave:

• Learn how to calculate how much long service leave your employees are entitled to
• Find out how your employees’ entitlement to parental leave has changed under the National Employment Standards
• Find out if you can ever direct an employee to take unpaid parental leave
• Discover how paid annual leave accrues under the National Employment Standards
• Find out exactly when an employee can (and cannot!) take adoption leave
• Learn your requirements when it comes to cashing out annual leave
• Find out exactly what evidence an employee must provide you with in order to be entitled to compassionate leave
• Discover what kind of community service activity an employee is able to take leave for
• Learn the documentation requirements for personal/carer’s leave

And remember, if you can’t find the exact answer you are looking for in the handbook, or just want to clarify something, you can just ask the Workplace Helpdesk.

Here are some of the questions about leave we get asked most frequently by our subscribers (and our lawyers answers!):

Q: We are an employer in South Australia. We have an employee who is owed 28 weeks long service leave. Is it possible for us to ask the employee to take all this leave at once?

A: Under the South Australian Long Service Leave Act 1987, an employer is entitled to direct an employee to take their entitlement to long service leave in one continuous period. If you do this, you must give the employee at least 60 days notice of the date from which the leave will be taken.

However, the employer and employee are entitled to reach agreement allowing the employee to take long service leave in separate periods.

Q: Is an employee’s sick leave entitlement cumulative? If so, for how long?

A: The answer is yes. An employee’s unused sick leave entitlement is cumulative from year to year indefinitely.

Order your free trial today to discover what else the Employment Law Practical Handbook includes!

You will find out:

• How to make sure your business is compliant with the Fair Work Act
• How to stop your employees taking regular “sickies”
• How to deal with employees who abuse their leave entitlements?
• The 3 clauses your employment contracts MUST have
• 1,127 labour law tips, tricks, tools and shortcuts, in PLAIN ENGLISH
• How to protect your business from unfair dismissal claims
• How to make redundancies quickly, cleanly and sensitively – without breaking the law
• The 6 simple steps you need to take to write a job advertisement
• 4 tips for making sure you are compliant with the National Employment Standards
• How to make modern awards better suit the needs of your business

The Employment Law Practical Handbook is a comprehensive, alphabetically organised guide to Australian workplace law, written in simple, easy-to-understand terms with no legalese. It explains how to manage labour issues by using practical step-by-step instructions, checklists and examples.

Your handbook package includes:

• A 600-page, alphabetically-organised handbook
• A FREE 14-day trial period (which begins from the day you receive your handbook)
• A FREE booklet – ‘How to Stop Stress Claims Costing Your Company Money’
• A FREE subscription to the Workplace Bulletin – your twice-weekly employment law e-letter

PLUS…

• You’ll receive updates approximately every 8 weeks which you simply slot into your handbook – so you can be sure that your Employment Law Practical Handbook will always be up-to-date. Each update is approximately 80-100 pages in length and is priced at just $97.
• As a paid-up subscriber to the handbook and updates, you will have access to the invaluable service, the Workplace Helpdesk where you can email all your short employment law queries to our team of labour law experts, and receive a response within 72 hours. This is one of the most useful benefits of your subscription – and it’s completely free, yours to use as regularly as you want.
• As a paid-up subscriber to the handbook and updates,, you will also gain access to the ‘subscribers only’ area of our website where a comprehensive archive of all handbook chapters will be available to you electronically.

When you order the Employment Law Practical Handbook on a free 14-day trial period, you’ll have two full weeks to review it at your leisure and see exactly how you could put it to use in your workplace.

Then you have two choices: if you wish to keep the handbook and get our regular updates, simply pay the invoice of $197 (incl. GST) included with the welcome package. Or, if you decide the handbook isn’t for you, just rip up the invoice and return the handbook to us – no questions asked!

Does the Employment Law Practical Handbook cover the national legislation?

Yes, the information covered in the handbook is written from a national perspective. If there are differences to the national legislation in your State or territory, the handbook will you inform you of them.

Who has written the material in the Employment Law Practical Handbook?

Our authors are top-class employment lawyers and consultants, with extensive experience in their respective fields. And that’s not all – every piece of information contained in the Handbook is verified by independent consultants, so you can rely 100% on the quality of advice given in the Employment Law Practical Handbook.

Who is the Editor of the Employment Law Practical Handbook?

The Editor-in-Chief of the Employment Law Practical Handbook is Charles Power. Charles is a partner and head of the employment law department at Holding Redlich.

What is the difference between the Employment Law Practical Handbook and other loose-leaf publications?

The Employment Law Practical Handbook is alphabetically organised and written in layman’s terms, so it is very easy to understand. It provides brief, comprehensive, precise and practical answers to your employment law questions.

Why should I buy a loose-leaf publication?

This is the only way to guarantee access to the most recent information available. Being a loose-leaf publication, the Employment Law Practical Handbook can easily be updated and added to. By receiving our updates, you can ensure that your binder is always 100% up to date.

This is one of the most useful benefits of your subscription to the Employment Law Practical Handbook – and it’s completely free, yours to use as regularly as you want.

Here’s how it works…

Whenever you have a legal issue at work – however small – and you need to be absolutely sure you’re on a sound footing before acting, just email our workplace helpdesk with your short query. Our employment law experts will get back to you, with an answer you within 72 hours – GUARANTEED.

It doesn’t matter which area of Australian employment legislation your question relates to – or how insignificant you think it is – by emailing us, you’ll know you can be 100% sure of the action to take, and you’ll be able to move forward with complete confidence.

This is a FREE service. Unlike when you pick up the phone to an employment lawyer, we won’t charge you a cent for our time or our expertise. And all of our advice will be accurate, up to date and fast.

Most of the time, our legal team will get back to you by return of email. On the occasions we can’t, we’ll take no more than 72 hours to find you the answer you need.

To give you an idea, here are some sample questions our email helpdesk has fielded in recent weeks – and how we responded to them…

Q: “In the current climate, our company has enforced a maximum 2-week leave allowance. However, I have an employee wanting to take Long Service Leave – are we able to enforce this ruling on Long Service Leave as well?”

A: Be careful applying a universal rule in either case. Instead I suggest you convey the message to employees in the following terms (The 4-week minimum I suggest for LSL reflects the QLD LSL Act):

“Given current economic conditions the Company will only grant periods of paid annual leave in excess of 2 weeks and long service leave in excess of 4 weeks if, having regards to the circumstances of each case, there is a fair balance between the needs of the business and the employee concerned.”

Q: “How can I ensure my confidential information is protected when employees leave?”

A: The best way to protect your confidential information is to ensure the employee’s contract of employment contains an ‘express restraint’ clause. This can require an ex-employee not to utilise your confidential information if they commence employment with a competitor to your business when their employment with you ends. You will need to make sure these restraints are properly drafted.

Q: “Can I speak to an employee’s doctor to confirm their inability to work?”

A: You will not be able to obtain a copy of a medical report or speak to an employee’s doctor, unless the employee consents. It is advisable to have the employee provide their consent in writing. This is because doctors often require a signed medical authority from their patients before they will release any medical reports or discuss a patient’s condition.

Q: “How often should I review my employees’ contracts?”

A: When employment roles change, you should take this as an opportunity to review the terms of your employees’ contracts.

Q: “Do you have any information on storing employees’ confidential information, e.g. medical results and drug and alcohol screens? I am having difficulty explaining to my managers that these documents are subject to privacy laws and cannot be made available to everyone in the office.”

A: As you are aware, privacy laws strictly govern the management of employee information in relation to health, and employers must ensure that information is collected, stored and used appropriately. Therefore, we suggest that you circulate a policy or memo to all managers stating something along the following lines:

“It is company policy that all medical information about job applicants and employees, including but not limited to drug and alcohol screening results, must be kept strictly confidential. This is in accordance with the requirements of privacy legislation. All medical records must be kept in separate, locked files apart from personnel files, and access to such information will be restricted to a specific person or persons as determined by [insert name]. Any breach of this policy could expose the company to serious legal liability. Consequently, any breach of this policy could lead to disciplinary action, which may include termination of employment.”

Imagine hiring a top employment law firm… having them at your beck and call around the clock… and NEVER getting billed!

That’s what the Workplace Helpdesk gives you. That alone is worth the small subscription cost.

Our free twice-weekly e-letter, the Workplace Bulletin, will keep you completely up to date with developments in the world of employment law, and offer you practical and actionable labour law tips you can implement in your workplace immediately. It also contains regular contributions from Australia’s top employment law experts, including Employment Law Practical Handbook Editor-in-Chief Charles Power.

The Workplace Bulletin is written in plain English – so it will only take you a few minutes to read – but the important information it contains will help keep you and your business on the right side of the law.

Here are just a few examples of the practical topics the Workplace Bulletin has covered in recent weeks:

• 5 things an award flexibility agreement must include
• Why you must keep proper employment records for 457 visa workers
• 5 things your workplace social media policy should include
• 7 steps you can take to prevent bullying in your workplace
• How to conduct a fair and legal workplace investigation

The Workplace Bulletin will keep you in the know about developments in the world of industrial relations in just 10 minutes a week.

To sign up, just enter your email address in the space provided below:

1,127 Labour Law Tips, Tricks, Tools and Shortcuts, in PLAIN ENGLISH, on Call When You Need it!

No two days are ever the same at work – As a busy manager myself I know that as well as anyone!

That’s why you’ll find answers to virtually every legal issue you’re ever likely to face in the 618 pages of the Employment Law Practical Handbook.

We work closely with some of the top employment lawyers in the country, with expertise in every area of labour law including: dispute resolution… Industrial Relations… Occupational Health and Safety… Compensation… Human Resources… Recruitment… Training… Performance Management… Policy Development… Migration… and many other skills, specialities and niches.

We wanted to make sure you’re completely covered – whatever legal challenge you have to face – so you can deal with it quickly and get on with your day.

There’s no Wading through Chapter after Chapter to Find What You Need

That’s the other thing we wanted to make sure we got right.

The handbook is modular, with each section clearly referenced for ease of use. If you can find what you’re looking for quicker, you can deal with any issues quicker – which means you need to spend less time bogged down in procedure, and more time delivering a great performance at work.

If the Employment Law Practical Handbook is something you think you could benefit from having in your workplace – why not take a 14-day free trial and see for yourself?

Remember – you’ll pay no money today.

Just review the handbook at your leisure over the next two weeks to see if it’s the kind of thing that could save you time, money and hassle at work. If it is, simply pay our invoice.

If not, just return the handbook to me and you’ll never have to pay a cent.

Get the answers to virtually every legal issue you’re ever likely to face!

8 reasons why you should take a 14-day risk-free look at the Employment Law Practical Handbook today…

1. If labour laws change, you’ll know about it instantly.
2. It’s like having a panel of qualified labour law experts on-hand 24/7.
3. If you have any labour questions you can always email our experts – for FREE!
4. Our sample contracts, letters, policies and forms will save you time and money.
5. Practical tools and simple guidelines make applying labour laws in your company fast and easy.
6. Stay on top of important deadlines with our FREE email newsletter.
7. Reply within 14 days and receive a FREE report.
8. Test-run the Handbook for 14 risk-free days.

Order your free trial today to discover what else the Employment Law Practical Handbook includes!

You will find out:

• How to make sure your business is compliant with the Fair Work Act
• How to stop your employees taking regular “sickies”
• How to deal with employees who abuse their leave entitlements?
• The 3 clauses your employment contracts MUST have
• 1,127 labour law tips, tricks, tools and shortcuts, in PLAIN ENGLISH
• How to protect your business from unfair dismissal claims
• How to make redundancies quickly, cleanly and sensitively – without breaking the law
• The 6 simple steps you need to take to write a job advertisement
• 4 tips for making sure you are compliant with the National Employment Standards
• How to make modern awards better suit the needs of your business