Contractor or Employee

Just because an agreement states that a worker is an independent contractor, this does not mean that they are a contractor for tax and superannuation purposes, new guidance from the ATO warns.

What do the 'Secure Job, Better Pay' reforms mean?

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 passed Parliament on 2 December 2020. The legislation is extensive and brings into effect a series of changes and obligations that will impact on many workplaces.

Are your contractors really your employees?

Two landmark cases before the High Court highlight the problem of identifying whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee for tax and superannuation purposes.

Recruiting new employees? The 1 November superannuation rule changes

When your business hires a new employee, the Choice of Fund form is used to identify where they want their superannuation to be directed. If the employee does not identify a fund, generally the employer directs their superannuation into a default fund.

COVID-19 Vaccination: Can an employer require an employee to be vaccinated?

There are currently no laws or public health orders in Australia that specifically enable employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against coronavirus. However, it is likely that in some circumstances an employer may require an employee to be vaccinated.

JobKeeper Alert

With the employee test date for JobKeeper moved to 1 July 2020, some additional employees might have become eligible for JobKeeper. The August JobKeeper monthly business declaration is due by 14 September and is different to the previous form as it covers three JobKeeper fortnights.

Financial AccountingJPR BUSINESS GROUP2 September 2020jobkeeper, Jobkeeper 2.0, employment law, covid-19

Increased flexibility for Parental Leave Pay for self-employed

From 1 July 2020, parents accessing the Government’s parental leave pay (PPL) scheme will have greater flexibility and options.

Targeting the self-employed and small business owners, the changes introduce a new flexible paid parental leave pay period of 30 days.

JobKeeper and termination payments

An employment termination payments (ETP) is a lump sum payment made to an employee when their job is terminated. ETP’s are generally made up of unused sick leave or unused rostered days off, payment in lieu of leave, genuine redundancy payments, etc.

Minimum wage increases

An increase to the minimum wage of 1.75% will start rolling out for the first full pay period from 1 July 2020.

JPR BUSINESS GROUP1 July 2020employment law, minimum wage, taxation, fairwork commission

What is happening with casual workers and annual leave?

News headlines recently stated that casual workers have won the right to paid leave following a decision in the Federal Court. As usual, the devil is in the detail.

At present, there is no global change granting Australian casual workers paid leave. The case however, highlights the long running problem of determining over time, who is a permanent staff member and entitled to paid leave and other benefits, and who is a casual worker entitled to a casual loading.