Amid a changing industrial relations landscape, one regime established as part of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act is anticipated to be highly favourable to employers caught in prolonged disputes.
In a recent episode of The Legal Brief, Kingston Reid partner Lucy Shanahan discussed the increasing frequency of intractable bargaining workplace determinations and offered tips for organisations looking to mitigate their risk through proactive strategy.
Shanahan explained that the value of these determinations for employers lies in the prevention of further industrial action and faster resolution of matters that would otherwise be heard in a hearing.
She said: “When parties have been bargaining for a period of nine months, there’s been a bargaining dispute and the Fair Work Commission is satisfied that there’s no reasonable prospects of agreement being reached, an application can be made to the Fair Work Commission to determine what the terms and conditions of employment will be.”
While workplace determinations existed in past industrial legislation, they previously only arose where bargaining was terminated and required a serious breach declaration, with the party having to prove severe or repeated breaches of bargaining obligations. In this vein, where there may have been only two or three over a decade, Shanahan estimated 12 determinations in the last financial year alone.
In this way, she urged employers to be aware of the possibilities and the new potential for resolution...
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