Industrial Relations


Industrial Relations news and insights for Australia’s small and medium business owners and entrepreneurs. Read the latest industrial relations news, trends and features and entrepreneur interviews about the industrial relations industry.

Or search for industrial relations on SmartCompany.


News


Unions push for $27-a-week minimum pay rise, employer groups not impressed
James Thomson The Australian Industry Group says unions are putting jobs at risk by pushing for a $27-a-week increase in the minimum wage. | Thursday, 18 March 2010

Unfair dismissal case raises questions about what a casual worker really is
Andrew Douglas The latest case on the meaning of a 'casual employee' for the purposes of the unfair dismissal regime is likely to lead to more rather than less confusion. | Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Gillard may be forced to change Fair Work laws around union right of entry: Expert
James Thomson The Government will side with the Australian Industry Group to appeal a decision by Fair Work Australia to approve a workplace agreement that gives unions almost unfettered access to a NSW workplace. | Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Surge in strike applications and unfair dismissal claims under new Fair Work regime
James Thomson New figures from Fair Work Australian reveal a surge in the levels of strike applications lodged by unions under the new Fair Work industrial relations regime. | Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Fair Work Ombudsman targets Clipsal 500 car race
James Thomson The Fair Work Ombudsman has unveiled a new tactic of targeting major events by announcing that inspectors will randomly audit stall-holders at next week’s Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race. | Friday, 5 March 2010

Union anger over women’s pay and modern awards
James Thomson According to a report released this morning, ACTU data shows women in full-time jobs are paid 17% less than their male counterparts – worse than back in 1985. | Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Experts applaud Fair Work Australia after settling crucial test case on enterprise agreements
James Thomson Employer groups applaud Fair Work’s decision to overturn an agreement that could have made compulsory arbitration a feature of every enterprise agreement around the country. | Monday, 1 March 2010

Unfair dismissal case highlights why employees must be treated consistently
James Thomson A recent dismissal case highlights the importance of conducting proper investigations into misconduct and treating all employees consistently. | Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Fair Work Ombudsman pursues union over unlawful strike
James Thomson The Fair Work Ombudsman launches legal action against the Australian Workers Union over unlawful strike action and an attempt to coerce an employer into paying strike pay. | Monday, 22 February 2010

Fair Work Australia reinstates sacked worker despite safety breaches, cites employees poor job prospects
James Thomson Employer groups are furious with Fair Work Australia’s decision to order the reinstatement of a worker who was sacked because of “serious misconduct”. | Friday, 19 February 2010

Trends


One in three bosses don’t care about safety
Patrick Stafford One in three bosses place production efficiency ahead of safety or don't care about work standards, according to a new survey commissioned by WorkSafe Victoria. | Monday, 23 February 2009

Taking a bite out of Apple
Taking a bite out of Apple | Wednesday, 26 November 2008

iPhone security flaw… again
iPhone security flaw… again | Tuesday, 7 October 2008

Facebook protest continues to grow
Facebook’s trendy new design has been met with hostility, after a group protesting the changes has hit one million members. | Friday, 19 September 2008

Apple developing facial recognition technology
A patent application by Apple has been unearthed revealing the technology group behind the iPhone may be developing software that operates on facial and speech recognition technology. | Wednesday, 10 September 2008

Microsoft attacks Google’s privacy record
With the release of the new web browser Google Chrome, the California-based technology group is taking on software giant Microsoft head on. | Thursday, 4 September 2008

Broadband in the kitchen is hot renovation trend
Drop-down plasma screens, computer data points in the kitchen and frameless showers are among the hot items on renovators shopping lists. | Friday, 8 August 2008

How to build your own font
Times New Roman feel a bit stale? The cool modern lines of Arial no longer appealing? Fear not, the remedy for your frustration is at hand – a DIY font website. | Tuesday, 29 July 2008

New laptop bags to end security check hassles
It’s a small thing, but for regular business travellers it can be oh so annoying – the requirement to take your laptop out of its bag so it can be x-rayed at the airport security gate. But according to the New York Times, the laptop security ritual is abo | Friday, 4 July 2008

Take a tour of the new 3G iPhone
For those of us who would like to know more about the new iPhone than the fact that it will be 3G, Apple has kindly released a couple of videos that showcase the desirable new gadget’s features. | Thursday, 3 July 2008

Features


Award modernisation far from over
Peter Vitale For many employers, particularly SMEs, the real spadework associated with award modernisation has only just begun. | Monday, 15 March 2010

The Aussie version of Good Faith Bargaining
Andrew Douglas The whole purpose of the Fair Work Act is to allow employers, employees and their union to battle it out and reach an agreement. | Monday, 8 March 2010

Safety training for workers
Andrew Douglas The biggest challenge in OHS is ensuring your workers exercise safe thinking, so train them to identify and assess risks and hazards. | Monday, 15 February 2010

Fair Work redundancy minefield
Peter Vitale Employers need to be wary about terminating employees for reasons of redundancy under the new Fair Work arrangements | Tuesday, 2 February 2010

A wrap up of 2009
James Thomson Get the lowdown on the year that was, from economy, politics and industrial relations to growth and the impending skills shortage. | Monday, 21 December 2009

The unions’ new bargaining ploy
Andrew Douglas The adverse action provisions under the new industrial relations legislation are a potential minefield for employers. Here's how to avoid any headaches. | Monday, 14 December 2009

Flexible work shock
James Thomson Come January 1 every employee will be able to request more flexible working hours. This could be a nightmare for SMEs. | Wednesday, 9 December 2009

Adverse action shock
Peter Vitali Not long after the introduction of the Keating Government's 1993 Industrial Relations Reform legislation, the then Minister, Laurie Brereton was forced into an embarrassing back down. | Monday, 30 November 2009

New legislation, old tricks
Andrew Douglas Negotiating an enterprise agreement under Fair Work Australia can trip up the most informed employers. | Wednesday, 25 November 2009

How harmonious is the Model Act?
Andrew Douglas The Model Act, if not amended will become law in December 2011, so what does this mean for employers? | Monday, 19 October 2009

Entrepreneur Zone


Digital directions
Amanda Gome John O’Neill, the chair of online strategy and digital agency Komosion, talks to AMANDA GOME about shaking the status quo in the face of the changing online space. | Thursday, 18 September 2008

Digital directions
Amanda Gome John O’Neill, the chair of online strategy and digital agency Komosion, talks to AMANDA GOME about shaking the status quo in the face of the changing online space. | Tuesday, 26 August 2008

Global IP protection online
Amanda Gome Safeguarding intellectual property used to be a labourious, expensive task. PCT Filer founder Justin Simpson tells AMANDA GOME how he has simplified the whole process. | Tuesday, 11 December 2007

Google: Search and revenue
Amanda Gome Google Australia has a new general manager. Karim Temsamani talks to AMANDA GOME about the direction the company is taking and the trends he sees as central to Google’s future. | Wednesday, 5 December 2007

Google: Search and revenue
Amanda Gome Google Australia has a new general manager. Karim Temsamani talks to AMANDA GOME about the direction the company is taking and the trends he sees as central to Google’s future. | Tuesday, 27 November 2007

Bouncing back
Jacqui Walker John Randel's first rubber manufacturing factory went up in smoke, but he clawed his way back, and has made a great success of his second enterprise, A1 Rubber. He tells his secrets to JACQUI WALKER. | Wednesday, 21 November 2007

Bouncing back
Jacqui Walker John Randel's first rubber manufacturing factory went up in smoke, but he clawed his way back, and has made a great success of his second enterprise, A1 Rubber. He tells his secrets to JACQUI WALKER. | Friday, 9 November 2007

Like minds, like links
Amanda Gome Fiona Boyd co-found Artshub, and has taken the lessons she learnt there to a new collector social networking site (with collection exchange capabilities) called CollectZing.com. She talks to AMANDA GOME. | Wednesday, 7 November 2007

Global IP protection online
Amanda Gome Safeguarding intellectual property used to be a labourious, expensive task. PCT Filer founder Justin Simpson tells AMANDA GOME how he has simplified the whole process. | Friday, 19 October 2007

Noodling nous
Steve Burnham The fast-service restaurant chain Wagamama opened in Australia only five years ago, but now boasts 13 outlets and a turnover close to $20 million. Founder Luke Fryer talks to Jacqui Walker. | Wednesday, 11 April 2007
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