FAQs

The administration of both is largely similar though the disciplinary process will contain a disciplinary outcome (such as a warning or final warning).  Formal counselling advice may put an individual on notice that next time, a disciplinary process may be enlivened.  It is always appropriate to seek advice from HR to determine which process suits the circumstances and we are at your service in this regard.  

This depends on the length of the probationary period you are using.  That is because the minimum period of employment (at law) is 6 months for businesses that are not small business employers.  Therefore, if your probationary period is also 6 months, then both the probationary period and the minimum employment period will align.  If however you are using a 3 month probationary period, it may still be possible for you to terminate employment in between the end of the 3 month probationary period and before the conclusion of the 6 month minimum period of employment under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Please contact us for advice on how to manage the new starter employee probationary period. We can also guide you in circumstances where you are small business employer (ie: the business employs fewer than 15 employees).

This could be an option provided that an employee can be returned to their previous substantive position.  There are however other alternatives that may be much easier to administer from an HR perspective (such as a secondment for example).  Alternatively, and in cases of significant elevation or promotion, there may be limited scope to include a new probation period in revised contract terms.  Each situation will have its own unique features, so please seek advice from us before you proceed.  

A maximum term contract contains a notice of termination clause.  Get in touch with us directly for further advice on whether a fixed term or maximum term contract is most appropriate for your circumstances.  

Yes, though there are a number of elements that you need to be alert to when doing so.  These may have changed since you last engaged a casual employee – and we are on hand to help you make sure that you are doing so correctly and mitigating industrial risk.

A newly established workplace right whereby an employee can refuse contact outside of regular working hours (such as via phone/email/teams) provided that the refusal is reasonable.  We have published an article on this topic which you can read here.  

Engagement is an HR buzzword that describes the extent to which an employee feels an emotional connection to their workplace/employer.  High levels of employee engagement are often a top KPI for HR leaders given the association with reduced turnover including retention of people you want to keep, higher levels of productivity and positive cultural outcomes.

Best practice requires a full suite of people and culture policies.  Amongst those that should be at the top of priority list are those covering Safety, Code of Conduct, Grievance Resolution, Whistle-blower Protections and Harassment & Discrimination Prevention.  Whilst the existence of a policy framework provides solid people infrastructure, it is of critical importance that you take steps to socialise organisational policies too.  Doing so best ensures that they are understood and applied by your people rather than just sitting idle on your intranet.

A PIP is an HR intervention that sets out required levels of minimum performance and output that need to be demonstrated within a given period of time.  A PIP is most often a supportive activity designed to address an identified performance shortfall or gap.  To this end, PIP tools usually set out any additional support that the employer will provide to help enable an employee to achieve the required level of satisfactory performance.  In the best-case scenario, the employee will demonstrate the requisite level of improvement and return to regular supervision at the conclusion of the PIP period (generally up to three months).  In other cases, a PIP may need to be extended for a further period where additional time may be necessary in order to demonstrate a satisfactory level of improvement.  Should performance continue to fall short of expectation, then disciplinary processes may be enacted.  

No – even one day is too late.  If you may be in this situation, please contact us as a matter of urgency.

Unfair dismissal is an application for relief where one argues that their termination has been harsh, unjust and unreasonable.  Unlawful termination covers termination for reasons that are prohibited by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) including in relation to discrimination, trade union membership, taking of parental leave and temporary absence from work due to illness or injury.  

Grievance related issues may be able to be addressed and resolved directly between the parties. There are however many situations where this may not be possible or even appropriate.  Where this is the case, a more formal process is necessary.  

Considering a request to work from home requires careful consideration.  Many factors will inform this decision in the current work climate.  The contract of employment and how this is drafted is also relevant.  Please get in touch with us for advice on how to manage this issue relative to your specific circumstances, organisation and industry.

A phenomenon that has emerged (particularly post pandemic) characterised by a lack of employee engagement.  Quiet Quitting may be described as the situation where you observe employees turning up to work and simply go through the motions working strictly to their role description.

The short answer is no, though an engagement survey initiative can give you very valuable feedback from your people so as to enable effective HR and IR strategy planning.  The engagement survey tools we recommend have solid validation techniques built into their process and produce data across key workforce domains including safety, recruitment, leadership, policy, quality, reward and recognition and many others.  We also use (and recommend to our clients) survey tools that provide you with benchmark data relative to organisations in the same broad industry.  That way, you can also track your HR metrics against industry peers providing you with even greater depth of insight. 

Absolutely.  It is important to remember that in the simplest of terms, culture is ‘the way we do things around here’.  Business leaders still have many opportunities to set the right cultural tone even with people working remotely.