In our previous post celebrating the firm’s decade in Australia, our partners shared their insights into the most significant changes in employment and safety law that have affected leading employers. This post further explores our partners’ perspectives on the major changes and trends that they anticipate will have a major impact on Australian businesses in
workplace
Closing Loopholes just keeps getting better and better
It is worth noting that under the original timetable of the Hon Tony Burke MP for the Closing Loopholes Bill, it would have been passed as law this week.
Instead, in the face of Senate scrutiny, the Bill was pushed into Committee for examination until February 2024. In the time since, fundamental problems with the…
The demise of labour hire – the problem, policy and politics
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…
Navigating the new world of work: Is contracting on the way out?
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…
“IR laws top CEO concerns”
This is The Australian’s 8 December 2022 headline. It reflects the result of its 2022 CEO Survey. We’re not surprised. It echoes the observation made in our previous blog about the new laws getting much C-suite interest.
This interest, and those concerns, stem from the likely shift away from enterprise bargaining and towards terms and…
Multi-employer bargaining under “Secure Jobs, Better Pay” – 10 implications for employers
Across a range of disciplines, the Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 will bring a paradigm shift. Indeed, on our count, there are thirteen new civil penalty laws aimed at employers arising from new obligations.
But the most profound change will be in the area of workplace bargaining as our previous blogs…
The psychological assumption behind multi enterprise bargaining
In our previous blog, Chris Gardner and I explained why in our view, if the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill was made law, it would spell the end of single-enterprise bargaining. We said this would happen because many employers would be roped-in or otherwise pressured to join multi-enterprise deals, resulting in industry-level enterprise agreements much…
Australia’s view of workforce productivity needs to have moved past the 1980s
Make no mistake about it, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 is the most significant thing to happen to this country’s industrial relations landscape since John Howard’s WorkChoices in 2005.
In fact, the Bill is the most significant development since the introduction of enterprise bargaining in 1993, when Paul Keating…
The future of the world of work—legal implications, issues, and leadership opportunities
We recently had the pleasure of hearing from Futurist Ross Dawson in an exclusive conversation about the powerful drivers that are reshaping work at a dramatic pace in the coming years.
Join us for the second of a two-part series on the future of the world of work. During this discussion-based session, our US and…
The future of the world of work: Insights from leading futurist, Ross Dawson
The future of work is in the process of being created. The leaders who seize the immense opportunity to attract and leverage the best talent in a swiftly changing world will excel. Interestingly, our own data shows that more people are hopeful about the future of work than they were five years ago.
You are…