Due diligence for employee entitlements during sales of business

A photograph of two men wearing suits shaking hands

When it comes to buying or selling a business, there is no shortage of matters requiring your attention. From negotiations about the purchase price or stock-in-trade, making and receiving representations, or understanding whether there are any hidden liabilities, all of these are essential components that make up a sale. However, one of the most commonly…

Read More

What businesses need to know about the new Fair Work amendments

a photo of a group of white human shaped blocks standing on a table, and a red block stands in front.

Yesterday, the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 was passed by both Houses of Parliament and will shortly enter into law. Yet despite strong support from businesses and equally strong opposition from unions, the final version of the Bill removes much of what appealed to either group with one notable…

Read More

REMINDER: Upcoming changes to the Retail Award

a close up photo of australian money - a ten dollar note, a twenty dollar note, a one hundred dollar note, a fifty dollar note, a two dollar coin and three one dollar coins.

As 2021 races by at an already alarming rate, NRA Legal takes this opportunity to remind members of several changes to the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (Retail Award) coming up in the first half of the year.   Final change to casual evening penalty rates on 1 March 2021 Further the decision of the Fair…

Read More

Odd bedfellows for some: payroll compliance and the salaried employee

A photo of two people sitting at a desk and only their hands and forearms can be seen. The person on the left is holding a document in his left hand and a pen in his right hand and is using the pen to point at the document. The person on the right is holding a calculator and inputting a function. On the table are a couple of documents, a cheque, a stack of coins, a pile of notes and an open, blank, lined notebook.

Given the extensive regulation that surrounds the minimum entitlements of employees in the Australian industrial relations system, it is still surprising how often businesses fall into the trap of “setting and forgetting” salaries for their staff. annualized salary Recent years have seen several major businesses dragged into the realm of scandal because salaries, however generous,…

Read More

What Boards need to know about wage compliance

a close up of a keyboard graphic, where one of the keys is bright red with a white gavel icon in the middle.

The introduction of the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 into Federal Parliament late last year is likely to change the way that Boards of Directors respond to reports of non-compliance or ‘wage theft’. Because of their concurrent obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act), this cohort has…

Read More

Top 10 takeaways from the Federal Government’s IR shake up

The Morrison Government has introduced legislation to overhaul key areas of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), providing a collection of measures to make the Australian industrial relations system more workable while balancing employer and employee interests.   Among other matters, the legislation proposes to re-vamp casual employment, increase flexibility in some industries, and introduce…

Read More

Presumptuous payroll rules end in heavy penalties for employer

A photo of a white piggybank standing on top of a grey calculator on top of an empty wooden desk.

In a stern warning for employers who “automate” certain parts of their payroll processes, the South Australian Employment Tribunal (the Tribunal) has slammed an employer with significant penalties for automatically deducting unpaid meal breaks from an employee’s day. The Tribunal also imposed penalties for 10 minutes of unpaid time at the start of each shift,…

Read More

Legal Beagles | Does this wage look right to you?

A small blue pawn statue standing on top of a large stack of coins in the middle of the image, and behind it are six other blue and purple pawns standing on top of a lower stack of coins.

Does this wage look right to you? The Legal Beagles, Cal and Al, return for 2020 with a brand new analysis on the wage theft (or non-compliance) scandals that have rocked the headlines. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they made any New Years resolutions to be nicer to each other! Like, comment and subscribe to our National Retail Association…

Read More