The Future of Work: Key Imperatives for Employers – a recorded lunchtime online conference

Hear from the experts at this online conference. You can watch it on your computer or on your portable electronic device from anywhere.

The conference will be based on our highly successful video webinar technology: there'll be a chairperson and presentations.

THE PROGRAM

Session 1: From Reactive to Proactive in Sexual Harassment Claims: The New Positive Duty on Employers

The shift in attitude and responses to claims of sexual harassment has been meteoric in recent times. Following the recent introduction of legislative reform, it has never been more important to be across the new landscape. This session provides practical and sound advice for fair handling of complaints of sexual harassment from the outset and achieving the best available outcomes for the organisation, including:

• Defining and identifying sexual harassment
• What obligations do employers have to prevent and deal with sexual harassment?
• Unpacking the new Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 (Cth)
• New positive duties on employers – how far does the new duty extend?
• Thinking beyond policies – from reactive to proactive approaches
• What are the first steps on receiving a complaint of sexual harassment?
• Key investigation steps and according fairness
• Managing the relevant parties during investigation
• Does the strategy change if the alleged harasser is a senior executive?
• Implementing crisis and communication strategies to minimise reputational damage
• Whose decision? Outcomes and fall-out
• Recent cases and their practical lessons for the future

Session 2: Secure Jobs, Better Pay? Unpacking the shift in Australia’s New Workplace Relations Landscape

The Federal Government has hit the ground running with wide-reaching workplace reforms that will significantly change the industrial relations landscape. This practical session examines these key changes and what they mean for employers, including:

• Unpacking the new Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022
• Understanding the new powers to the FWC to arbitrate disputes involving flexible work
• New caps on rolling fixed-term contracts
• Multi-employer bargaining:
  • The opt-in process
  • What could this mean for small businesses?
  • Understanding new union rights and the risks of industrial strikes
• Will enterprise bargaining be simplified?
• What should employers be doing now to prepare for the changes?
• Case studies highlighting the practical effects of the reforms

Session 3: Gig Economy and the Casual Workforce: The Future of Insecure Work

The casualisation of work has been seen as a boon for some and a disadvantage for others. Whether these arrangements need regulation has led to vigorous debate and discussion, while court decisions have provided some guidance on minimum requirements. This session will examine the developments in this area and what the future may hold for casual labour and the gig economy, including:

• Casual staff:
  • Terms, significance and effect of recent court decisions
  • Resulting amendments to the Fair Work Act, and the new definition of casual employee
  • New rules for conversion to permanent employment
• Gig economy:
• How the gig-economy has changed the nature of employment
• Exploitation or self-determination? Two sides of the coin considered
• The role of the courts in shaping the narrative in Australia and the impact of their decisions on the situation
• Is regulation necessary? State and Federal Government enquiries and their recommendations
• Lessons from recent cases