Ross Clarke
Ross Clarke has more than a decade’s experience in the enterprise bargaining room.
The knowledge and skill he has acquired in this time has enabled him to develop a highly sophisticated planning and process model for successful enterprise bargaining. This proven methodology delivers results across all industries including distribution, hospitality, banking, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications and gaming.
“Ross’s knowledge of industrial relations and his ability to understand how and when to communicate internally with government; and with the media were instrumental in guiding the Association’s successful response to the campaign.”
Patrick Griffin OAM, Australian Hotels Association
Contact Work Relations
Mobile: 0419 401 702
Email ross@workrelations.com.au
L3, 97 Pacific Hwy
North Sydney
Australia
Had Not Genuinely Tried to Reach Agreement
/in Agreement Approval /by rossA union has been told its protected action ballot application has been prematurely made, after it held one meeting with a HR officer of the employer. And to make matters worse, only two out of 11 claims on the union’s list were even discussed at that meeting, which came less than five hours after the […]
Ballot Box Bungle No Barrier to Approval
/in Initiating Bargaining /by rossJust who gets to vote on an enterprise agreement has been the subject of a few disputes and it has again required a Fair Work Commission full bench appeal to clear up some misconceptions. In this case, there were two problems with the ‘electoral roll’; some casual employees who voted had not worked in the […]
Criminal Record Discrimination Change Now Law
/in Updates /by rossDiscriminating against a prospective employee on the basis of a criminal record is generally a no-no, but the regulations have been amended to re-cast the ground as “an irrelevant criminal record”. It is a significant distinction, and the change has a back story. About a year ago, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) found an […]
Red Tape, Record Keeping and Reverse Onus of Proof
/in Updates /by rossOne of the changes to the Fair Work Act as part of the ‘protecting vulnerable employees’ amendments, that has slipped under some employers’ radar is section 557C. This provision reverses the onus of proof where there is a dispute about the number of hours an employee has worked. In a recent federal court case, the […]
Failure to Fully Consult Not Necessarily Fatal
/in Updates /by rossWhen making employees redundant, if an employer fails to properly consult with those affected beforehand, the termination can be deemed not a genuine redundancy. If this finding is made, it is then open for the Fair Work Commission to find a termination to be harsh, unjust or unreasonable. This is what nearly happened to a […]
Dual Employment Gets Court OK
/in Bargaining Research /by rossHaving two jobs with the one employer has been a feature of a few enterprise agreements for decades, but it is largely unknown, and thought to be a bit risky. But a recent Federal Circuit Court decision has confirmed the legality of it, alleviating concerns about adopting the practice. The case concerned a shire council […]
Trading-Off the Essence of Bargaining
/in Agreement Approval, Homepage News /by rossAssessing the better off overall test for enterprise bargaining should focus on objectively verifiable matters and not descend into speculation about subjective or unquantifiable matters the FWC has said when rejecting union objections to a proposed agreement. The agreement had a fixed 43 hour week which the union contended eliminated the employees’ opportunities to accrue […]
Job and Not the Duties Count
/in Homepage News, ROE + General /by rossWhen a business experiences a downturn, it is not unusual for the response to include redundancies. And when this is achieved by dispersing the duties of an employee, who is to be made redundant, among other staff who will remain, it can create some ill-will, and even claims of unfair dismissal because the work is […]