Legal Tips

Did you know that under the National Employment Standards, where an employee falls sick during a period of annual leave, they are entitled to claim payment as personal/carer’s leave and have their annual leave refunded to them?

Examples include inclement weather, a failure to give possession to the site, delays caused by other contractors, and any pandemic. Check your contracts to see what qualifying cause of delay applies to your work.

An employee can be lawfully terminated for reasons in connection with their conduct or performance, or the operational requirements of the business such as redundancy.

Are you aware of what grade of Electrical worker your employee falls under? An employee who has completed their apprenticeship and holds a valid licence is a Grade 5 Licensed Electrical worker.

Do you know that whilst on a period of probation, employees remain entitled to accrue and access their leave entitlements such as annual leave and personal/carer’s leave?

Good news for electrical contractors and residential builders in NSW! As of 1 March 2021, electrical contractors and residential builders can claim monies from an unpaying homeowner under the Security of Payment Act.

CTI Lawyers can assist you in various aspects of Security of Payment legislation; preparation of payment claims, payment schedules, Statutory Notices, Adjudication Applications and responses.

From 20 November changes to overtime calculations for casual employees came into effect. Employees are now required to apply the compounding approach when calculating the pay of their casual employees who work overtime. This means that the employee is required to pay time and a half, double time and double time and a half on the rate that is inclusive of the casual loading.

CTI Lawyers has made a summary of these changes here: http://ow.ly/4L2w50Cw3ca

RDO’s accrue during personal leave, annual leave, public holidays, long service leave, and workers compensation. However, when taking an RDO or on unpaid leave, they do not accrue.

CTI Lawyers is currently working on a RDO and public holiday calendar for 2021. Keep an eye out through your emails and socials.

Changes to overtime calculations for casual employees affective from 20 November, 2020 where employers are now required to apply the compounding approach when calculating the pay of their casual employees who work overtime. This means that the employee is required to pay time and a half, double time and double time and a half on the rate that is inclusive of the casual loading.

Bullying and harassment in the workplace can pose a potential risk to the health and safety of the victim, often leaving the victim feeling shame and helplessness, loss of self-esteem, poor work performance and possibly stress, anxiety and depression. Employers have an obligation to treat bullying and harassment complaints very seriously and promptly. CTI Lawyers can assist as an independent investigator for any bullying complaints they receive and provide recommendations for the employer.

CTI Lawyers are experienced in conducting these investigations in a quick, effective and cautious manners with minimal disruption to the workplace.

Read more on how you can manage workplace bullying and harassment: http://ow.ly/SRYZ50BHkMi

An Enterprise Agreement is beneficial to you as it provides an opportunity to tailor the agreement to your business needs and fixes the terms and conditions on the employee for the period of the agreement.

In its Annual Wage Review decision handed down on 18 June 2020, the Fair Work Commission’s Expert Panel increased award minimum rates of pay by 1.75 percent and applied an increase to some expense-related award allowances, effective from the first full pay period to commence on or after 1 November 2020.

NECA has issued update Wage Rate Bulletins for the Electrical Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010 and the Clerks Private Sector Award 2020 here: http://ow.ly/KyQB50C8yod

Are you having issues when negotiating contracts?

CTI Lawyers is holding a webinar on Thursday 5 November discussing the 5 Key Clauses for contractors when negotiating contracts. Key takeaways include:

1. Security and recourse to security;
2. Risk of errors, ambiguities and inconsistencies in contract documentation
3. Delays and extension of time;
4. Liquidated damages and delay costs.

Are you aware of the three important steps to achieve a genuine redundancy? For a redundancy to be genuine, the employer must ensure the following:

• they no longer require the job be done for operational reasons;
• they have consulted with the employee about the possible redundancy; and
• they cannot reasonably redeploy the person with the employer or an associated employer.

Are you aware that the new award rates of pay and allowances under the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010 come into effect on 1 November 2020?

CTI Lawyers are working on a summary of the wage increases which will be released shortly -keep an eye out for the upcoming Wage Rate Bulletin.

The rule is that employers have a legal right to terminate the employment of their employees so long it is done in accordance with the contract of employment and the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘Act’).

Performance Management may be of assistance to you! This involves having a meeting with the employee to discuss the issues with their employment and potential options for improvement, such as extra training. Performance Management provides the employee with an opportunity to improve their conduct and performance before actions such as warning letters and termination are considered.