Employees often build a well of knowledge in the course of employment that they wish to take with them to another employer, however some of this information may be confidential. This case is a further illustration that customer contact information, types of software licences/subscriptions sold...
With the rise of the gig economy and labour hire businesses, the distinction between an employee and a contractor has again been considered by the High Court. This case is of interest because it demonstrates that (notwithstanding reporting of some recent decisions in the same area...
The case of Butterfly Systems Pty Limited v Eduard Sergeev [2021] FWCFB considers whether non-compliance with a lawful and reasonable direction is a sufficient cause for summary dismissal. Section 385 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) provides that a termination must not be harsh,...
The recent decision of BP Refinery (Kwinana) Pty Ltd v Tracey [2020] FCAFC 89 (‘Full Federal Court Decision’) sheds considerable light on the circumstances in which an employee could be lawfully terminated for breach of employer’s policies on matters that do not directly affect work performance, and also suggests an...
In WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131, the Full Court of the Federal Court found that a labour hire worker employed as a casual was in fact an employee entitled to leave payments under the National Employment Standards (NES) under the Fair Work...
In Austal Ships Pty Ltd v Clay [2018] WASC 178, the Supreme Court of Western Australia granted an interim injunction to restrain a former employee of Austal, Mr Clay, from commencing employment with a competitor. Mr Clay had commenced employment at Austal in August 2014 as an...
The Federal Government has recognised employee share ownership as something that should be encouraged. It has set a target to increase the percentage of employees receiving shares as a benefit from employment from 5.5% in 1999 to 11% in 2009. To encourage this increase it has...
Developers and purchasers who wish to rely on the long term or permanent enforceability of restrictive covenants should be aware of section 28 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (“the Act”). Section 28 enables environmental planning instruments to override restrictive covenants where development...