Under anti-discrimination legislation, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of their age, sex, race, disability, marital or relationship status or carer’s responsibilities. This also extends to circumstances when hiring staff.

It is critical that employers are aware of these legal risks, before engaging in the recruitment process.

In this podcast, we expand on our recent e-Publication “Termination of Employment: A Lawful and Ethical Approach”, where we look to respond to questions and general commentary around the process and considerations when looking to terminate an employee’s employment.

This month’s focus is on Part A of the publication; terminating employment in relation to employee capacity or conduct. Next month’s podcast will cover Part B; termination of employment relating to the role (redundancy).

On 18 March 2021, the Senate passed a ‘stripped down’ version of the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021, otherwise referred to as the ‘IR Omnibus Bill’. The Government dropped all other Schedules from the IR Omnibus Bill, with only Schedule 1 remaining, which addresses changes to casual employment.

These changes will have a significant impact on the legal status of casual employees in the national system.

In this episode of our podcast we discuss the issues with the industrial relations legislation currently before the Senate, the IR Omnibus Bill, with a focus on the changes to casual employment.

One of the most difficult aspects of workplace management is the termination of employment. This is an inevitable part of any employer’s business. However, a dismissal does not have to be affected in an adversarial or combative manner, and often, having a respectful conversation which allows the employee to preserve their dignity, can be the best protection against the issue escalating unnecessarily.

PCC Employment Lawyers has compiled a resource for employers to assist in navigating this process and minimise their legal risk.