Legal

Clive Peeters senior accountant Sonya Causer plead guilty to 24 counts of theft in the Victorian Supreme court yesterday amounting to some $20 million stolen from Clive Peeters accounts.

David Jones is not the only company in hot water over sexual harassment, last week two Airservices Australia employees launched a $1 million plus action over alleged workplace law breaches just hours after an Adelaide business was forced to make a record $466,000 payout to a former employee for sexual harassment.

Asteria Joinery’s director Ryan Marsh was fined $16,900 after a prosecution by the Fair Work Ombudsman for underpaying workers at his company more than $31,000.

Consumer law nationally has been radically changed with the passing of new laws that prohibit standard form consumer contracts which contain unfair terms. These changes are likely to have a significant impact on SMEs and how they interact with their customers.

The Fair Work Act is anything but for small business, with employees calling on ‘General Protection’ provisions within the Fair Work Act to prevent an employer taking fair action against them.

Adelaide based national broadband company Internode has called on the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) to end Telstra’s “price squeeze” due to its anti-competitive broadband pricing.

Coles is in hot water from Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon for selling imported cigarettes significantly cheaper than local cigarette brands, undermining the Government’s anti-smoking efforts.

Tony Abbott has abandoned plans to exempt small business from unfair dismissal laws under the belief that the public has no appetite for workplace reform.

Chinese workers recruited for the former Mitsubishi site in Adelaide were paid only $1.90 an hour the Fair Work Ombudsman alleges.

Cotton On, the Geelong-based clothing and retail giant failed to pay 3289 of its employees more than $278,000 for staff attending training out of working hours.

Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman will be making ‘educational visits’ to about 60 businesses in Mosman over the next two weeks to discuss Australian workplace laws.

More than half the employers randomly audited by the Fair Work Ombudsman in Northern Victoria recently failed to comply with federal workplace laws.

The NSW Chief Industralian Magistrate’s Court in Sydney has fined a Sydney telecommunications company $54,000 for underpaying two former workers more than $30,000.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched its first pregnancy discrimination case in the Federal Court, with more women expected to approach the Ombudsman with an awareness campaign.

Whiskas has for some time used a particular shade of purple in their packaging and marketing materials called “Whiskas Purple”, the company then sought to register the colour as a trade mark..

Confusion among retailers is at an all time high with first phase of the modern award wages for retailers starting yesterday.

Heat Group is advising other Australian employers to fight spurious workplace claims, after a workplace discrimination case against the company was dismissed yesterday.

One of the world’s first law firm to list on the stock exchange, Slater & Gordon has entered into an agreement to acquire Queensland based Trilby Misso Lawyers for $57 million.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is seeking to ban Optus from using the word “unlimited” in advertising after alleging the company has misled consumers.

Restaurants that force customers to pay illegal holiday surcharges are under fire for not complying with a year old change in the Trade Practices Act by the ACCC.