The beginning of the year is the ideal opportunity to reassess your HR documentation and organisational strategy. This can include employment contracts, resetting expectations about standards of behaviour and revising working arrangements. In 2022, be proactive and confident to recast your existing approach with a new strategy.

The need to be fast, agile and ahead of the curve on all levels of customer service is no longer a ‘nice idea,’ it’s a business imperative. This tipping point has created an abundance of work for IT teams in Australia and around the globe, and a backlog of work that needs to be delivered now, not next year. If you, like so many companies, didn’t jump early into this digital race, how do you catch up? While I’m here to advise Australian organisations (small, medium or large) on how to do this, you must first understand that the crisis isn’t over.  

Melbourne is leading the charge for Australia in the medtech, biotech and pharmaceutical industries with the recent announcements of the Monash University Smart Manufacturing Hub to deliver Australia’s first mRNA vaccine for clinical trials, the new Australian Institute of Infectious Disease in the Parkville Biomedical precinct, and the latest partnership with Moderna to manufacture its mRNA vaccine in Melbourne.

On 1 July this year, WorkSafe Victoria introduced provisional payments to provide better support for workers with a mental injury. Eligible workers and volunteers who submit a mental injury claim can now access provisional payments for reasonable treatment and services while their claim is being determined.

The Fair Work Commission has upheld the CFMMEU’s challenge to BHP’s Site Access Requirement rendering a mandatory vaccination requirement unlawful and unreasonable.

Over the next three years, the Victorian Government’s $64 million Digital Jobs program aims to produce up to 5,000 job-ready candidates with up-to-date digital skills that will help Victorian businesses thrive.

There has been a substantial increase in staff turnover around the world as restrictions ease and employees have been able to return to the workplace. Here are some simple tips to help ensure your business can adapt and tackle the great resignation head on.

As many businesses continue to grapple with the complex laws around wages, mistakes can easily be made and quickly add up to substantial underpayments.

Research by Victorian Chamber members Swinburne University of Technology and Readiness, concludes business leaders need to ‘lift their game’ when it comes to psychological wellbeing in the workplace.

While there has been a growing focus to better understand mental health and improve outcomes in recent years, COVID-19 accelerated that shift as the pandemic took a significant toll on society’s physical and psychological health. Moving Mindz has crucial task of studying the broader implications of mental health trends to help clients improve workplace practices and cultures.

The Fair Work Commission has refused to award compensation to a hotel worker who would not agree to a temporary reduction in hours, despite finding that she was unlawfully stood down. The Commission maintained she failed to “share the burden of the pandemic.”

The Fair Work Commission has confirmed a company’s rejected request for an employee to return to full-time hours was consistent with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code and did not warrant an unfair dismissal.

The Victorian Chamber is delighted to extend an invitation to our members and clients to participate in a design workshop to help identify innovative and practical education approaches to improve equality in the workplace.

We know business and workers need to do their bit to manage and slow the spread of COVID-19. Every business should: have a COVIDSafe plan; provide hand sanitiser; regularly clean high-touch surfaces; comply with rules regarding vaccination; ensure staff wear face masks where required; and use QR codes. In addition, some businesses must conduct COVID-19 surveillance tests and some are recommended to implement a testing scheme.

Victorians have never spent more time in their homes than they have over the last 18 months. As a result, many of us have begun viewing our living spaces differently and renovations and home content upgrades have boomed across Melbourne. This week, RACV shares valuable learnings and insights gained through the pandemic, including the importance of ensuring you are protected with the right insurance, property trends and market impacts, home security, and more.

Enterprise bargaining can be an intimidating and tiring task. Make sure you invest time in planning and developing your bargaining strategy before you begin the process.