Author Archives: Hannah Hoffman

Employer obligations and jury duty

Do you know the ins and outs of jury duty? What about your obligations as an employer? We have put together some answers to commonly asked questions. What is jury duty? Jury duty or jury service is a type of community service leave. Can an employee take leave to attend jury duty? Yes, employees can […]

Minimum wage increase from 1 July

Are you up-to-speed with the minimum wage increase? In case you missed it, Fair Work has announced that the 2.5% increase will occur in three stages. So, what do you need to know? The increase doesn’t affect employees who already get paid more than the new minimum wage. Most awards will increase from 1 July […]

Increase to superannuation guarantee from 1 July

Are you an employer? Are you up to speed with the scheduled superannuation guarantee increase? Here are some key points you need to know. From 1 July, superannuation on employee wages is increasing to 10%. Check your employee contracts/agreements, and importantly, your payroll system, to make sure you capture this increase. If your employee’s base […]

An employee returning from parental leave wants to change roles, must we accept?

As an employer, are you aware of your obligations if an employee returning from paid parental leave requests to move into a different role? We recently answered this question. “An employee is coming back from parental leave. As their original role involves weekend work, they have asked to change roles. Unfortunately, there is no vacant […]

Are we required to offer paid parental leave?

Do you understand your employer obligations if an employee is taking maternity leave? We recently answered the following question.   “We are a small business with a staff of seven and one of our employees is expecting a child. Do we need to pay paid maternity leave as well as Government Paid Parental Leave?”   […]

Can I request a medical clearance from an employee before they return to work?

Do you understand your employer rights and obligations when it comes to sick leave? We recently answered this question. “An employee works in a high-risk area of the business. They have been on sick leave for over a month. Is it reasonable for us to ask them to provide a medical clearance before they return […]

Employment Contracts & Non-Compete Clauses

Do you have a non-compete clause in your employment contracts? Are you considering including one? We recently answered this employer question. “Can we include a non-compete clause in future employment contracts that specify staff cannot work for competitors or clients for a 6-month period after their employment with us ends?” Answer In your employment agreements, […]

Resolving a workplace dispute with mediation

Has your business been involved in a workplace dispute with an employee? Workplace mediation can be an effective and affordable solution to resolve conflict at work. In fact, statistics show that mediation settles more than 85% of initiated disputes. To help you understand more about how mediation works we have answered some common questions below.   […]

Are new employees entitled to sick leave?

New employees are entitled to paid sick leave, however, it is important as an employer you understand how entitlements work and your obligations. We have put together some key points below.   Firstly, when can an employee use sick leave? An employee can access paid sick leave when they cannot work due to a personal […]

Common questions about Long Service Leave (LSL)

Do you understand Long Service Leave (LSL) and your employer obligations? To help you get your head around it, we have put together some information answering some common questions we receive. Firstly, what is Long Service Leave (LSL)? Long service leave is a period of paid leave granted to employees in recognition of a long […]