The silly season has started and Christmas parties are well underway. For employers, this means it is time to think about employee safety and wellbeing during the party season and to remind employees about their obligations at work events.

Increasingly, businesses are approaching us for advice in relation to their use of contractors and labour hire arrangements to meet their labour needs. Of course we appreciate the advantages of such arrangements for businesses. However, businesses who engage in any arrangements which illegitimately classify employees as contractors, now - more than ever, are running the gauntlet.

In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit Court sent a clear message on this issue, fining an employer and its sole director a total of $124,000 for sham contracting and associated legal breaches.

It’s the time of year we all start to look forward to the Christmas break and for most businesses, this means it is also time to think about making arrangements for staff over the holiday period. Whether you intend to shut down entirely for the Christmas/New Year period, work through this period or maintain a skeleton staff, there are some things to be aware of in order to avoid breaching the Fair Work Act 2009.

The National Minimum Wage decision for 2016 was yesterday handed down by the Expert Panel of the Fair Work Commission (FWC), based on actual and forecasted economic and social data.

As a result, from 1 July 2016:

• the National Minimum Wage and minimum wages in Modern Awards will increase by 2.4%;
• the National Minimum Wage will be $672.70 per week or $17.70 per hour;
• weekly wages in Modern Awards will be rounded to the nearest 10 cents; and
• the casual loading will remain at 25% in Modern Awards and for Award/Agreement free employees.

If your organisation has 100 or more employees in Australia, it is required to lodge its annual Gender Equality Report by 31 May 2016 with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (Agency) to cover the reporting period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

It’s time for your organisation to get its data in order to report on:

• gender composition of the workforce;
• equal remuneration between women and men;
• working arrangements for employees and to working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities;
• number of appointments made during the reporting period by gender and manager/non-manager;
• number of promotions awarded during the reporting period by gender, employment status and manager/non-manager;
• number of resignations during the reporting period by gender, employment status and manager/non-manager; and
• number of employees who, during the reporting period, ceased employment during, or at the end of, a period of parental leave (including where the parental leave is taken continuously with any other leave type, for example a person may utilise paid parental leave, annual leave and unpaid leave during a single block of 'parental leave').

A new Ombudsman is about to enter the scene – the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. 

Former ACT Chief Minister, Kate Carnell has been appointed to the role and is set to begin in March 2016. Carnell will step down as the current head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to take up the office, which will replace the current Small Business Ombudsman.

The new Ombudsman will have two main functions: to advise on, and to assist small businesses and family enterprises.

Independent contracting has been a hot topic this year and we predict that it will be for some time to come. Last week, the High Court added another layer to this discussion after handing down its decision in Fair Work Ombudsman v Quest South Perth Holdings Pty Ltd [2015] HCA 45 (Quest Decision).

The Quest Decision was an appeal from the Full Federal Court about sham contracting and the operation of s357(1) of the Fair Work Act. 

We’ve noticed a change recently. The Federal Court is firming up its position on awarding employees compensation for hurt and humiliation in adverse action claims.

The most recent case that sparked our attention on this issue was Fair Work Ombudsman v Maritime Union of Australia (No 2) [2015] FCA 814 where five employees were awarded damages for successfully arguing that the “loss” referred to in s545(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act (under which the Federal Court can award damages) includes loss other than economic loss, such as loss resulting from emotional harm and distress. 

Earlier this week, poultry supplier Baiada and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) announced that they have entered into a 3-year Proactive Compliance Deed to right the wrongs of Baiada’s contractors who have for some time been underpaying their employees.

It’s been an interesting few weeks in the employment law world. We’ve had the 7/11 expose, a member of the Fair Work Commission on 4 Corners and last week, the Senate passed changes to the Fair Work Act 2009. One of the most significant amendments will change the way greenfields enterprise agreements are negotiated and approved.