We often hear about Director liability and for most Directors it is an abstract concept that we think will never impact us.  The greatest risk has historically been attached to those Directors in high risk (physical injury) industries where breaches of workplace health and safety obligations are more likely to have catastrophic outcomes. However, this is not always the case and all Directors need to be aware of their obligations and ensure risk management is

I was recently reading an article which asserted that “narcissism is today’s biggest workplace problem”. If we are honest, we have probably all worked with at least one of these types of people, I know I have in the past.  If they are the biggest workplace problem, then how do we identify the narcissists employed within our workplaces? A narcissist is described as “someone who is very charismatic and charming but whose self belief surpasses

The Industrial Award system in Australia is extensive. The Modern Award system is intended to cover most work and therefore most employees, providing for minimum enforceable conditions.  Although the Modern Award system is generally industry based, there are also some occupational Awards that cover employees in all industries, such as the Clerks – Private Sector Award. Although the Award system, in one form or another, has been a feature of Australian employment regulation for a

The number of reported cases citing poor HR practices has increased. This may well be because the cases of poor HR that are reported may better be described as extremely poor, horrendous or to borrow a phrase from Deputy President Asbury in a recent case “deplorable”. The cases themselves, although often salacious and therefore make for an interesting read, are also usually related to a unique set of circumstances from which there is little to

I have been reflecting on when enterprise bargaining is an appropriate strategy for clients and when other options may better suit their business objectives.  What I have increasingly noticed over the last few years is that where clients do not already have an Enterprise Agreement in place, they are reluctant to go down that path and prefer to look at innovative ways to achieve their objectives.  The reasons for this reluctance are many and varied,