Employment and Migration Blog

Israel Folau recently published comments to Instagram, which have since been shared by the media to an audience of millions. Rugby Australia's answer was to convene a panel, which included two of Australia's pre-eminent employment law silks, to decide whether Folau was guilty of breaching its Code of Conduct - and the panel subsequently determined that Folau was indeed guilty as charged.  This piece delves into the details of whether or not Folau's Instagram post actually put him in breach of contract.

In a recent case, the HR manager of a Chinese restaurant was fined $21,760 for knowingly processing underpayments and helping to falsify records. Under the Fair Work Act, she was liable as an accessory for the company’s failure to pay minimum rates and entitlements over a 16-month period. HR managers and workplace advisers have been warned.

The primary benefit of incorporating certain company rules and procedures into a company policy rather than an employment contract can be the ability of the employer to be able to vary and amend the terms of its policy or policies over time in order to accommodate the forever changing environment of business operations. The terms of an employment contract on the other hand, cannot be varied without the consent of both parties – so it can be a lot trickier to try and implement any change.