Many Australian businesses use contractual restraints of trade to protect confidential information and customer relationships. In this update we answer frequently asked questions about the future of restraints of trade in Australia, and consider options available to companies in the event that some types of restraints are no longer available.
Are restraints of trade still
In his press club speech on 31 August 2023, just days before the public release of the Closing Loopholes Bill, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations the Hon Tony Burke MP described the problem of the labour hire loophole as follows:
“But if you have an enterprise agreement in place, the labour hire loophole
If it’s not already happening, Board room agendas will be making room for yet another compliance program.
We’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating: the bolstering of anti-sexual harassment laws will see workplaces adopt approaches akin to eliminating or minimising, so far as reasonably practicable, workplace health and safety risk. The positive duty demands
The High Court of Australia’s decision in the Qantas outsourcing case[1] has been widely reported. But both the scope of the decision and the key takeaway have potentially been misunderstood.
How do you (dis)prove a negative presumption about your reasons?
The real issue in this case, as in most adverse action cases, was why
This instalment of our series on the Closing Loopholes Bill considers new measures aimed squarely at union empowerment.
The Bill mandates rights for union workplace delegates that must be included in all Modern Awards and future enterprise agreements. As a minimum, these rights will be to:
The use of contracting arrangements is widespread; however, around the world, we are seeing trends suggesting this type of work arrangement may become more restricted, higher cost or higher risk to companies in the future. We asked several partners to share their insights on what’s changing for companies that use contractors and what the key
Some of this is guesswork, and the extent of what’s coming is uncertain, but:
In part three of our four-part series on Reductions in Force in Asia Pacific, we looked at severance costs and benefits, key timing challenges and consultation with employees or employee representatives.
In this final instalment of our series, we’ll cover the last three things that we recommend multinational employers consider: (#8) consideration of expats, (#9)
In part two of our series on reductions in force in the Asia Pacific, we addressed the importance of restructuring rationale, employee selection and redeployment, and consultation with employees or employee representatives. In part three, we’ll cover the next three issues we recommend multinational employers consider: (#5) severance costs and benefits, (#6) timing challenges, and
In Part 1 of our series on reductions in force (RIFs) in the Asia Pacific, we addressed the importance of planning and strategy timing. In Part 2, we consider the next three things that we recommend multinational employers look out for: (#2) restructuring rationale; (#3) employee selection and redeployment, and (#4) employee/employee representative consultation.