THE IMPORTANCE OF WILLS
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THE IMPORTANCE OF WILLS

Do I really need a Will? If you die without a Will, the law dictates who receives your property in accordance with a pre-determined formula. There is no guarantee that your assets will be distributed in the way you would have preferred and in some circumstances your assets can end up being passed onto the...

RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES UNDER EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
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RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES UNDER EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

Our Gold Coast Lawyers have recently had a large amount of enquiries concerning the rights of employees following dismissal. Our previous publications have discussed employee actions under the Fair Work Act 2009 (‘the Act’), such as unfair dismissal, genuine redundancy and general protections claims, however, there are circumstances where employees cannot bring these actions against...

FAMILY ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON 2013
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FAMILY ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON 2013

It is important to remember that families come in many different shapes and sizes, and while Christmas should be a happy time where a family spends quality time with each other, where parents are separated or have recently separated, it could be a time of disappointment, confusion and loneliness. As adults, it is the parent’s...

GENDER EQUALITY TOUGHENS UP
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GENDER EQUALITY TOUGHENS UP

On the 6th of December 2012 the Workplace Gender Equality Act received royal assent, and will be phased in over the coming two years. Gender equality reporting requirements will undergo significant changes as a result of the Act for large private sector employers who have over 100 employees. The requirement for employer’s to develop equal...

DE FACTO RELATIONSHIP – APPLICATION MADE OUT OF TIME?
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DE FACTO RELATIONSHIP – APPLICATION MADE OUT OF TIME?

The applicant filed an application with the Court, which amongst other things, sought a declaration of the existence of a ‘de facto’ relationship with the respondent between September 1992 and 18 February 2010. The respondent denied that a defacto relationship existed, and if in fact it was found that it had existed, he argued that the relationship...

EMPLOYEE’S USE OF LINKEDIN RESULTING IN DISMISSAL
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EMPLOYEE’S USE OF LINKEDIN RESULTING IN DISMISSAL

A recent decision by the Fair Work Commission has reinforced the oft-repeated warning – that private use of social media can adversely affect your employment. In this case, the Applicant had been employed by a company on a full-time basis, but was operating his own company on the side. The Applicant sent a mass email...

CHANGES TO FAIR WORK ACT 2009
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CHANGES TO FAIR WORK ACT 2009

Parental Leave From 29 December 2013, parents will be entitled to take concurrent parental leave of 8 weeks, a large increase from the previous entitlement of 3 weeks. Furthermore, any employee’s entitlement to unpaid parental leave will not be reduced by any amount of unpaid special maternity leave taken by an eligible employee. Flexible Working...