Employment Law for the Time Poor

Piper Alderman

A podcast from Piper Alderman's Employment Relations team where they discuss the important topics in employment law in Australia.

  1. Jul 21

    Employment Relations Podcast – It's AI, my dear Watson! The HR Field Guide to Gen-AI in Investigations and Beyond

    Authors: Emily Haar, Ben Motro, Emily Setter Generative Artificial Intelligence seems to be everywhere. If you think your business may be immune, your staff are likely not telling you how they are using it.  The risks of getting it wrong are real. But it isn't all doom and gloom. Used responsibly, and appropriately, Gen-AI can deliver real value and time saving in many HR-related processes.  In this episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor, Emily Haar and Ben Motro, Partners, and Emily Setter, Senior Associate, work through the pros, the cons, and the non-negotiables in managing Gen-AI use in the workplace, and how it can help (or hinder) human resources practitioners in managing the perennially tricky task of managing an investigative process.

  2. Jan 14

    Employment Relations Podcast – Safety in the workplace: drug and alcohol testing and policies

    January is a time where organisations often review their policies and procedures for best practice compliance.  One policy that might need a review, following recent case law developments, is your organisation's drug and alcohol policy.  In this episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor, Emily Haar, Partner, and Maida Mujkic, Associate, consider the implications for organisations arising from a string of 2024 and 2025 decisions in the Fair Work Commission.  In these cases, the issue of whether a dismissal following a positive substance test was "unfair" turned on how testing policies were worded, whether the organisation tested for "impairment" or a mere positive result, and how the relevant policy was communicated to staff.  Having a very clear policy that sets out the rules is important, but if no one in the organisation understands what is expected of them, or how the employer will deal with a positive result, the organisation is placed at significant risk.  The situation becomes even more complicated because prescription medications, including medicinal cannabis, can also create potential safety risks in the workplace.  Taking the time to get your safety framework right, including regular reviews to address changes, will be time well spent. The following cases are discussed in this episode: Gauci v DP World Brisbane Pty Limited [2024] FWC 2351 Woodgate v Queensland Rail [2024] FWC 3165 Sydney Trains v Goodsell [2024] FWCFB 401 Mills v Glamorgan Spring Bay Council [2025] FWC 116 Sydney International Container Terminals Pty Ltd v Hancock [2025] FWCFB 106 DP World Sydney Limited v Witherden [2025] FWCFB 133 For more on these issues, including relating to consultation, see our earlier Insight here: https://piperalderman.com.au/insight/lessons-for-employers-how-failure-to-consult-on-workplace-policy-led-to-reinstatement-of-intoxicated-worker/

  3. 06/30/2025

    Employment Relations Podcast – When is the deal done? Resolving employment disputes

    Authors: Emily Haar, Ben Motro Has this happened to your organisation? You're negotiating an exit with an employee, or perhaps you are working through a conciliation or mediation following the filing of an employment-related claim, and you think you have a resolution, though nothing has been signed yet. You might wonder, do we have a binding or enforceable settlement, even without anything signed? In this episode of Employment Law for the Time Poor, Ben Motro and Emily Haar push past some of the legalese to work through when a settlement agreement is binding, how particular Court and Tribunal processes can impact the steps taken to "get to the deal", and what common "settlement" phrases mean and how they may impact the enforceability (or not) of a settlement proposal. For more practical tips from our Employment Relations team, we are hosting several Workplace Training events throughout the year, including on managing common employee-claims. Subscribe here to ensure you never miss an invite to one of our events.    For additional insights into best-practice drafting of deeds of release more generally, see our on-demand training here, and our summary of the Elisha v Vision Australia decision here.

  4. 12/18/2024

    Understanding the Employment Law Considerations in Defence Export Controls

    Employment Relations Podcast #41 – Understanding the Employment Law Considerations in Defence Export Controls Authors: Emily Haar, Erin McCarthy, Travis Shueard In this episode, we delve into the recent amendments to the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth) and explore the implications for employment law and anti-discrimination issues.  Emily Haar is joined by Erin McCarthy and Travis Shueard to discuss how these legislative changes impact businesses in the defence industry – which is defined more widely than you may initially think! The legislative grace period before penalties apply ends on 1 March 2025, such that now is the time for businesses to assess whether these changes will apply to them, and if so, what impact that will have on their workforce planning, both for current and future employees.  For more insights on these changes and the equivalent US legislation see: https://piperalderman.com.au/insight/aukus-itar-export-control-reform-and-the-australian-defence-industry/ https://piperalderman.com.au/insight/itar-101-fundamentals-and-practice/ To never miss an episode, subscribe via your preferred podcasting application: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts ·         If you use a different podcast app you can subscribe to the podcast by copying and pasting  http://piperalderman.libsyn.com/rss in to the RSS feed

  5. 08/23/2024

    Understanding the Australian Right to Disconnect

    Employment Relations Podcast – Understanding the Australian Right to Disconnect Authors: Emily Haar, Lucie Lawrence-Wall The "right to disconnect" is commencing for most national systems employers on 26 August 2024 (small businesses have a further 12 months to get ready).  Does your organisation understand what this "right" actually is, and how it could impact your operations? In this episode of Piper Alderman's Employment Law for the Time Poor Podcast, Partner Emily Haar and Senior Associate Lucie Lawrence-Wall discuss the international position and the "availability creep" concerns the right to disconnect is designed to address.  They work through what the new provisions involve, including consequential changes to Modern Awards, as well as discussing some of the practical implications the new "right" may (or may not) for your workplace.    The right to disconnect is not the only "Closing Loopholes" change that commences on 26 August 2024.  For more insights see our previous episodes and insights here: https://piperalderman.com.au/insight/employment-relations-podcast-37-closing-loopholes-no-2-considering-complexities/ and  https://piperalderman.com.au/insight/closing-the-rest-of-the-loopholes-final-tranche-of-fair-work-act-amendments-passes-but-with-some-significant-changes/

  6. 05/20/2024

    Wage Theft: Go Directly to Jail?

    One of the few constants in life and business is change.  Come 1 January 2025, a significant shift will take place for national system employers when criminal wage theft provisions come into effect because of changes in the Closing Loopholes Reforms.  But what does "wage theft" mean, and in what circumstances will criminal prosecution occur? In this episode of Piper Alderman's Employment Law for the Time Poor Podcast, Partners Emily Haar, Principal Chris Hartigan, and Senior Associate Jack Bourke discuss: The differences between civil underpayments and criminal wage theft; How the new regulatory model closely resembles the approach of the model work health and safety legislative provisions, requiring a more proactive response from organisations; When an underpayment is "intentional"; New ways to engage with regulators; Significant increases to civil penalties, and expansion of serious civil contraventions to include "reckless" conduct; and Wage compliance as a governance issue.     For even more practical insights, on 20 February 2024, our Adelaide team presented on "wage theft" and civil underpayments.  Register to view a recording of the webinar here:  https://piperalderman.com.au/event/webinar-beat-the-clock-2024-substantive-law-underpayment-or-wage-theft-understanding-compliance-with-the-fair-work-act-criminalisation-and-the-proposed-safe-harbour-provision/

  7. 12/19/2023

    What does a psychosocially safe workplace look like?

    Following the 2018 Boland Review into the model Work Health and Safety provisions, workplace psychosocial safety has squarely been on the policy agenda.  Combined with recent changes as a result of the Respect@Work Report, the clear policy position, and expectation of society, is one of employers taking responsibility and being accountable for having workplaces that are both physically and psychologically safe.  In South Australia, its version of amendments to the Work Health and Safety regulations to deal with psychosocial safety commence on 25 December 2023, following similar legislative reform around Australia in each of the jurisdictions with the model Work Health and Safety laws.  Victoria is currently considering similar, though potentially more far-reaching, provisions.   In this episode of the Podcast, Emily Haar and Emily Slaytor discuss what it means to have a workplace that is psychosocially safe, including what psychosocial hazards are, how to spot them and manage them, and what organisations need to do to both be compliant, but to also prove compliance in the event that a regulator takes interest.  Directors and senior executives in particular need to think about how they will ensure appropriate "due diligence" to comply with their duties as officers under work health and safety law.  Some resources you may be interested in to explore this further include: 2018 Boland Review: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/model-whs-laws/review-model-whs-laws Respect@Work: https://www.respectatwork.gov.au/ The Safe Work Australia Model Code of Practice:  https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-code-practice-managing-psychosocial-hazards-work The US Surgeon-General's Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/workplace-mental-health-well-being.pdf Curtin University and the University of Sydney, 'How work design shapes mental health in the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry,' July 2023, https://8bd0f060-89c2-4f20-bced-abb2e8c5789f.usrfiles.com/ugd/4faa3e_a32fcac432d14fbaac489ab570648843.pdf

  8. 10/25/2023

    The Governance of Decision Making in the Post-Qantas Environment

    The recent High Court decision in Qantas v TWU [2023] HCA 27 focussed on the question of how the general protections in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) work in circumstances where employees did not presently have particular workplace rights (in that case the right to take industrial action), but would have those rights in the future if not for the adverse action being taken.  While that analysis has rightly been the subject of a lot of interest, the outcome in that case turned on the other key concept in general protections claims – the "reverse onus" where employers need to prove that an unlawful reason did not form a substantive part of their reason for taking the action.  In Qantas, it was apparent that there were clear and appropriate commercial reasons for taking the action that occurred.  The question for the Court at first instance was whether Qantas was able to discharge its burden. In this episode of the Podcast, Emily Haar and Erin McCarthy discuss how legally-defensible decisions are best made, whether by a Board, the Executive, or others down the "decision-making chain", drawing on a number of recent (and not so recent) cases in the general protections space, including Barclay, BHP Coal, Kodak, Claremont Coal, Australian Red Cross, Wong v NAB, and Serpanos.  Being intentional about the process, as well as what is considered, and what is documented, in making a decision will best protect employers in the case of a legal claim.

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A podcast from Piper Alderman's Employment Relations team where they discuss the important topics in employment law in Australia.

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