Cameron Blewett

Cameron Blewett is the founder and senior trainer at IR Simplified. With a passion for industrial relations that is hard to match, Cameron is only to eager to help you find ways to solve you industrial relations challenges.

Significant Decision From Full Bench Fair Work Commission Regarding Bullying.

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Yesterday, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission handed down a decision of significance with regards to the way that it assesses applications for an order to stop bullying under s.789FC  of the Fair Work Act 2009.

An employee lodged an application for an order to prevent her from being bullied at work. The applicant was allegedly subjected to bullying behaviour from November 2007 through to May 2013, though no bullying behaviour has occurred since May 2013.

This decision deals with the jurisdictional objection from the respondent, being that the Commission has no jurisdiction to hear and determine an application involving alleged bullying conduct which occurred prior to 1 January 2014, the date that Part 6-4B commenced

Points of interest:

  • Paragraph 7: Reference to ‘is at work’ in s789FD(1) simply provides the context in which the bullying behaviour has taken place. The alleged bullying behaviour must take place prior to the making of an application for an order under s. 789FF.
    This was in response to the submission from the respondent that a worker can only be bullied at work from 1 January 2014, when the  legal characterisation of ‘bullying’ came into force.

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7 Common Myths About Industrial Relations

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7 Common Myths About Industrial RelationsEvery industry and field has their fair share of myths and misconceptions, and industrial relations is no different . Some have a resemblance of truth, whilst others are propagated by those within to improve their perceived value to a prospective client.

In no particular order, here are seven of the most common myths surrounding industrial relations

Myth #1
You need to have a degree in Law or Human Resources to understand Industrial Relations
Whilst it may be beneficial to have studied a HR degree if you are working as a generalist that dabbles in IR. If Industrial Relations is going to be your focus, or you are wanting to understand it better for your own business, then a degree isn’t needed.

With the average HR or Law degree doing only a module/unit on Industrial Relations, you would be better off looking at the Fair Work Commission or Fair Work Ombudsman’s website for the answer to any questions that you may have.

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Paying Wages/Salary In Crypto-Currency

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Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, seem to be all the rage at the moment. Both as an investment option and a potential alternative to traditional fiat currencies.

Whether they are a flash in the pan, or are here for the long haul, really is anybodies guess.

Wider Acceptance

One thing that will hasten their general acceptance is being able to receive part or all of your salary in your favourite ‘coin’, possibly avoiding the exchange fees at the same time.

This is exactly what the 21st Century Media and Education Group of Companies is planning on doing. Combine this with their plan to release Bitcoin ATMs and an Australian Bitcoin Exchange, looks set for you to be seeing ‘Bitcoin Accepted Here’ signs everywhere.

Can It Be Done

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What Is Industrial Relations

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What Is Industrial Relations?Merriam Webster defines Industrial Relations as the dealings or relationships of a usually large business or industrial enterprise with its own workers, with labor in general, with governmental agencies, or with the public.

If you have picked up a paper any time in the past 6 – 12 months, you could be forgiven for thinking that industrial relation is the trade off between wage increases and the mythical productivity increase.

Yet industrial relations is both more and less complex than that.

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What Is A Trade Union?

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What Is A Trade Union?Hardly a day goes by where there isn’t a mention of, or reference to a trade union.

Depending on the publication, unions can be portrayed as the gate keepers of workers rights, or the scourge of prosperity in Australia.

Though to others, the union movement is nothing more than a preschool for aspiring Labor politicians.

What Are They Really?

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