Australia's first national paid parental leave scheme has been officially passed by parliament. From January 2011, new parents will have access to an 18-week parental leave scheme paid, funded by the government and paid at the federal minimum wage.

Extrastaff has been monitoring closely the effects of the Modern Awards since their inception January 01, 2010.

To date these changes mainly being conditions of employment, have been relatively straight forward in their implementation.

Recently momentum has been building to which on the 01 July 2010 rates of pay including safety net adjustment, casual loading, shift and overtime come into effect.

Safety Net Adjustment

Salaries are forecast to rise by four per cent across the board this year, with finance, engineering and construction workers among the biggest winners, according to Mercer research.

Mercer's Market Issues Survey, of 258 organisations, reveals that after 18 months of subdued movement, salary increases are gaining pace.

Average rises of four per cent are expected in 2010 and 2011, compared with the three per cent seen last year.

The federal Coalition is considering softening a key plank of its workplace relations policy, limiting the exemption from unfair dismissal laws to businesses with five workers or fewer.

Tony Abbott has previously flagged exempting businesses with up to 20 employees from the laws, prompting attacks from Labor and the unions that millions of workers would lose protection.

New Zealand's unemployment rate has fallen dramatically, dropping from 7.1 to 6.0 percent during the March 2010 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand figures released recently.

This is the first decrease in the unemployment rate since the December 2007 quarter in the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), which is based on a representative sample of 15,000 Kiwi households.

The New Zealand Budget was delivered May 20 announcing changes to the tax system, find out what effects these have for employers.

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There are few legal risks linked to banning 'body art' at work, but employers should ensure policies are relevant to the workplace and consistently applied, says workplace lawyer Brad Petley.

May 2010. Robert Bryant, IBISWorld.

Nursing homes provide 24-hour nursing care for residents who are typically aged 70 years and older. The industry is set to expand at a strong rate due mainly to the ageing of the Australian population.

The nursing homes industry is expected to generate revenue of $8.8 billion in 2009-10, representing about 6.5% of total health expenditures in Australia.

HR managers could be found personally liable for bullying and harassment at work, under the national OHS framework, if they fail to take steps to prevent it, according to Hicksons Lawyers partner Brad Swebeck.

The new regime, expected to commence in January 2012, harmonises OHS laws across Australian states and territories, and broadens the definition of "officer" to persons in management and control of a workplace.

Extrastaff is committed to minimising injury and ill health at work, and achieving leading industry practice with health and safety.

A recent internal review of Extrastaff's injury rates revealed a serious injury incidence rate for 2009 of 9.9 (per 1000 employees), which is well below the National rate of 13.5 (all claims) and significantly lower than industry specific incidence rates for "labourers & related workers" being 37.7 (sourced from Compendium of Workers Compensation Statistics Australia 2007-8, published February 2010)