Managing employee absence is one of those HR areas that many businesses quietly muddle through without ever formalising. A quiet word here, a welfare chat there, perhaps a letter when things become persistent. For smaller employers, this informal approach has often...

From 7 April 2026, a new national enforcement body will have the power to investigate your business, issue enforcement notices, pursue civil proceedings against you, and publicly name you as a non-compliant employer. That body is the Fair Work Agency. This article...

For decades, the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection gave employers significant breathing room when managing new starters. A dismissal within the first two years carried relatively limited legal risk for most conduct or performance issues....