Mental Illness in the Workplace

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that one in five (5) Australian adults experience some form of mental illness every year? This serious illness has increased over the past 5 years, which now have seen around 45% of Australians aged between sixteen (16) and eight-five (85) experiencing a mental illness at some point in their life. As we all know, unfortunately, mental illness or any form of illness doesn’t just stop at home. You live majority of your life at work and thus wherever you go your illness may shadow.

As an employee, you may develop a mental illness prior to your employment or during your current employment and without a good support system and ongoing work strategies you may be in a worse off position. As an employee, you need to know your rights and privileges at a workplace if it is affecting your day-to-day life. You deserve a workplace that ensures a safe and healthy environment.

EMPLOYERS AND MANAGEMENT ROLES

All employers and management roles require appropriate steps to be taken to minimise and eliminate any form of illness whether that be mental or physical that is impacting an employee. Employers and management staff are obliged to create and identify possible work practices, actions or incident procedures which may eliminate mental illness of their employees.

There are many reasons why an employer should help improve and support an employee’s physical and mental concerns, namely; because a safe and healthy workplace is good for business, it improves productivity thus increasing revenue but most importantly it’s because it’s the LAW.

An employer has a number of legal obligations in relation to the management of mental illness in the workplace; ensuring that Occupational Health & Safety is met, avoiding discrimination within the workplace both with employer-employee relations as well as employee-employee relationships and ensuring privacy has been kept between the employer and employee.

MENTAL ILLNESS AT WORK

The employer must provide, ‘reasonable accommodation’ to assist an employee to properly perform their duties whether that employee is physically or mentally disabled. Unfortunately, for an employer, supporting and facilitating a mental illness is of greater difficulty to suppress and support than that of a physical injury/disability. For example, an employer can support one of their staff members by enabling wheelchair access and assessable workspaces for a person of physical illness however, supporting an employee with a mental illness comes with greater challenges.

The Courts have focused on what is ‘reasonable’. The Court will require employers to go to all lengths to enable employees with mental illness to keep working but on the other hand an employer mustn’t go to such accommodation that is too much of an offset for an employer’s revenue and expenses.

In the principal case of Ambulance Victoria v M, [2012] the Full Bench determined that an employer cannot dismiss an employee or not reinstate an employee due to a lack of confidence in the employee’s ability to sustain and maintain good employment with a mental illness. There must be a reasonable based judgment in coming to this decision, momentary figures for example.

Article Source: Mental Illness 

Top Reasons Why You Should Setup a Company

When you go into business, you have the option of either being a sole trader or entering into a business partnership. There is also the option of starting up a company, and in this post, we’ll look at a couple of key advantages as to why setup a company might be the best idea.

What Exactly Is Setup a Company?

When you start a company, it’s a legal entity all on its own, separate from the individuals running the company. With a business, you are the business. With a company, the company is the business.

Companies can also own property, and companies can also be sued, just like a person.

Public companies are listed on the stock exchange and are made up of individual public shareholders. Private companies don’t distribute shares to the general public and cannot raise funds through share offerings.

Smaller businesses tend to operate as private companies.

So Why Establish a Company?

There are many reasons why you might decide to go the company route over being a sole trader or partnership. Let’s look at some of the top reasons and advantages.

Payless Tax – This is one of the most attractive qualities a company has to offer. Who doesn’t get excited over the prospect of paying less tax? Overall the tax rate will work out lower than if you were running a regular business. The company tax rate is set at 30% on profits, so when you receive dividends, you will often receive tax credits.

Limited Liability – Also a huge advantage when running a company. In a nutshell, this means that individual shareholders are not liable for the companies debts in most instances, and therefore cannot have their personal assets seized in order to cover those debts.

More Control – Those who own the business are the shareholders in the company, whereas those you appoint as the managers and directors of the business are separate from the company’s shareholders, and therefore don’t own a part of the company.

Company Jurisdiction – Once your company has been registered in one Australian state, provided your company number appears on all paperwork, you are free to conduct business all across the nation.

Need Help Starting a Company?

Have a chat with your local legal representative who fully understands the advantages of setting up a company and the processes involved. In Brisbane, your team of experienced professionals is Aylward Game Solicitors.

Article Source: Why You Should Setup a Company 

LEGAL COMPLEXITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT

The field of Employment Law presents many challenges for employees and employers alike.

Our partners Ian Field and Mark Game can take care of those employment law issues for you, including contract and policy preparation and review, restraint of trade issues, confidentiality, redundancy/dismissal, and general employment law issues and disputes.

Employment Law presents many challenges for employees and employers alike
In the event of a dispute, if it’s not possible to negotiate an outcome, we can arrange representation for you in the appropriate court or tribunal, with the benefit of our Special Counsel, Guy Sara.

LEGAL COMPLEXITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT

Employment law is massively complex, and this applies to both the employer and the employees. For the employer, there is a need to know the rules governing the hiring, remuneration, and dismissal of employees.

This knowledge is important as it helps a company protect itself in the face of the law whenever something out of the ordinary happens.

For example, as an employer, you might find yourself facing controversy over the conduct of your business towards an employee.

While at times mistakes happen due to ignorance and naivety, the law sees you as the person tasked with safeguarding the rights of those under you. As such, an employer will always have an obligation towards the employees.

At times, it is important to understand the legal ramifications that govern every single act by a company or an employee. While the employer is always the boss, there is a need to draw a line between what is acceptable behavior and what is not.

Employment law also exists to serve the employer from the employees. For example, as an employer, you may be challenged on the following: How are you protected from a member of staff who chooses to use company resources or information in a malicious nature? Are they immune from the law? What does employment law say about someone who fails to come to work for days on end without a leave of absence? As the employer, do you have the mandate to discipline that person?

The Importance Of Understanding Agreements for employment law

Laws governing the drafting, implementation, and cancellation of contracts have always been weighty. The average Joe does not understand the lingo that governs employment contracts. If you are an employee, you need to clearly understand the terms laid out in the agreement between you and your employer.

The employer also needs to understand the strict conditions of a contract in order to avoid violations and charges. Generally, there is a lot of ground involved when covering employment law, which raises the need for an expert on legal matters every time an issue comes up.

In the firm, we are fortunate to be able to rely on the experience and intellect of our two partners, Mark Game and Ian Field, when it comes to resolving issues relating to employment law.

Article Source: Employment Law 

Employment lawyers Brisbane

The field of Employment Law presents many challenges for employees and employers alike.

Our partners Ian Field and Mark Game can take care of those employment law issues for you, including contract and policy preparation and review, restraint of trade issues, confidentiality, redundancy/dismissal, and general employment law issues and disputes.

Employment Law presents many challenges for employees and employers alike
In the event of a dispute, if it’s not possible to negotiate an outcome, we can arrange representation for you in the appropriate court or tribunal, with the benefit of our Special Counsel, Guy Sara.

LEGAL COMPLEXITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT

Employment law is massively complex, and this applies to both the employer and the employees. For the employer, there is a need to know the rules governing the hiring, remuneration, and dismissal of employees.

This knowledge is important as it helps a company protect itself in the face of the law whenever something out of the ordinary happens.

For example, as an employer, you might find yourself facing controversy over the conduct of your business towards an employee.

While at times mistakes happen due to ignorance and naivety, the law sees you as the person tasked with safeguarding the rights of those under you. As such, an employer will always have an obligation towards the employees.

At times, it is important to understand the legal ramifications that govern every single act by a company or an employee. While the employer is always the boss, there is a need to draw a line between what is acceptable behavior and what is not.

Employment law also exists to serve the employer from the employees. For example, as an employer, you may be challenged on the following: How are you protected from a member of staff who chooses to use company resources or information in a malicious nature? Are they immune from the law? What does employment law say about someone who fails to come to work for days on end without a leave of absence? As the employer, do you have the mandate to discipline that person?

The Importance Of Understanding Agreements for employment law

Laws governing the drafting, implementation, and cancellation of contracts have always been weighty. The average Joe does not understand the lingo that governs employment contracts. If you are an employee, you need to clearly understand the terms laid out in the agreement between you and your employer.

The employer also needs to understand the strict conditions of a contract in order to avoid violations and charges. Generally, there is a lot of ground involved when covering employment law, which raises the need for an expert on legal matters every time an issue comes up.

In the firm, we are fortunate to be able to rely on the experience and intellect of our two partners, Mark Game and Ian Field, when it comes to resolving issues relating to employment law.

Article Source: Employment Law