Nobody goes into business thinking ‘I can’t wait to manage people.‘ But tolerate it or loathe it, it comes with the territory.
There’s been a lot of change in the HR and workplace relations landscape over the last few years, and not all of it has made headlines. This includes new laws, quiet amendments and court decisions rewriting what many businesses assumed was fine.
At a recent Business Hunter breakfast, these were some of the topics getting attention. If you haven’t reviewed your contracts, processes or policies lately, some of these might surprise you. And you might want to make changes.
Most of these changes apply to businesses in Australia operating under the national workplace relations system. If you’re a sole trader or unincorporated business, check which rules apply to you.
The pay secrecy clause hiding in your contracts
If your contracts say something like ‘your salary is confidential,’ it’s time to update them, even if no one has mentioned it.
Pay secrecy clauses have been unlawful since December 2022. Including one in a new contract is now a breach of the Fair Work Act, with fines of up to $825,000 for companies. That’s not a small figure.
The tricky part is the clause might not be obvious. It could be buried in a confidentiality definition or an old salary review letter rather than spelled out plainly.
How to fix it
Pull out your contract template, look for anything that curbs your employees from discussing their pay, and remove it. It’s a simple fix, but only if you know to look.
The 21-day flexible work trap
An employee asks to work from home two days a week. You have a quick chat, say you’ll think about it, and things get busy. Sound familiar?
The problem is, under the Fair Work Act, as an employer, you must respond in writing to a flexible work request within 21 days. If you don’t, it’s taken as a refusal. This allows the employee to take the dispute to the Fair Work Commission.
And it doesn’t stop there. Before denying a request, you must genuinely talk with the employee and try to reach an agreement. Skipping this step means even a legitimate ‘no’ may not hold up.
How to fix it
Even if you have the right intention, make sure you have a process. Put a simple system in place to make sure flexible work requests get a written response within three weeks, every time.
The set-and-forget salary trap
Many small businesses pay a loaded salary and assume it covers everything – overtime, penalty rates, allowances – averaged over the year. But a Federal Court decision from September 2025 says that’s not how it works.
In a Woolworths and Coles case, the Court found that set-off clauses only work if your contract clearly spells out what’s covered – and you actually meet those entitlements.
It’s easy to assume this is a big-business problem. It isn’t. The principle applies to any employer using annual salary arrangements. And record-keeping obligations apply too, even if you pay a salary that’s meant to cover those entitlements.
How to fix it
Start by checking whether your salaries actually cover award entitlements in each pay period, particularly during busy periods when overtime is likely. If you’re not sure, it’s worth getting advice before the ATO or Fair Work comes knocking.
Don’t forget, every July the Fair Work Commission hands down its annual wage review, updating the national minimum wage and award rates. If your salaries are sitting close to award minimums, make sure they’re keeping up – underpayments are firmly in the Fair Work Ombudsman’s sights right now.
See also: Wage setting: working out salary levels for your business
The privacy claim you didn’t see coming
Yes, privacy laws do affect you. And scrutiny is increasing, even for small businesses.
As of 10 June 2025, a new law for serious invasions of privacy went live under the Privacy Act, giving your employees a direct legal path to take action against you.
The risks are actually closer to home than you’d think:
- Monitoring remote workers
- Sharing an employee’s medical details internally
- A clumsy all-staff email that reveals too much
Practices you once considered low risk could now lead to complaints or regulator attention if they aren’t handled carefully.
How to fix it
Take a look at how your business collects, stores and shares employee information. If you’re monitoring staff in any way – devices, location, hours – make sure it’s documented, reasonable, and your team knows about it.
And before you hit send on that all-staff update, ask yourself whether everyone in it needs to be!
The Payday Super sting
You’ve heard Payday Super it’s coming. But have you really thought through what it means for your cash flow?
From 1 July 2026, you must pay your employees’ super on payday, at the same time as their salary and wages. This is a big shift from quarterly payments.
Miss the deadline and the ATO comes knocking – with interest that compounds daily and extra charges depending on your track record.
If you’re paying weekly, that’s a minimum of 52 super payments a year. This is a working capital change, not just a payroll tweak.
How to fix it
Talk to your payroll provider or bookkeeper now – before July. Check your cash flow can handle more frequent super payments, that your payroll system is ready, and that your super fund details for each employee are current and accurate. Getting caught out on a technicality is avoidable.
See also: Payday super starts July 2026: how to prepare
The right disconnect rule
If you think the right to disconnect is a corporate HR topic, it’s not, not anymore.
Since August 2024 (or August 2025 if you’re a small business), your employees have the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact outside their working hours, including from you, and from clients. Whether a refusal is unreasonable depends on the circumstances, but the default has shifted.
The practical risk isn’t dramatic. It looks like:
- The Sunday night Teams message
- The after-hours email you expect a quick reply to
- The assumption that being reachable is just part of the job
Employers who ignore a Fair Work Commission order related to the right to disconnect face penalties of up to $93,900.
How to fix it
Have a conversation with your team about after-hours expectations and what ‘reasonable contact’ looks like in your business. Write it down. And check your own habits too. That Sunday night message might feel harmless, but it sets a tone.
See also: How to achieve work-life balance
The ‘never had a complaint’ mistake
Feel confident because no one has ever raised an issue? We suggest you don’t get too comfortable.
The positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act requires you – regardless of your business size – to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment, sex discrimination and related victimisation in your workplace. Waiting for a complaint before acting is no longer compliant.
Regulators have already kicked off formal inquiries into businesses across retail, hospitality, finance and transport, and have signalled further focus on high-risk industries.
How to fix it
The question isn’t whether you’ve had an issue. It’s whether you can show you’ve taken steps to prevent one. Start with training, clear policies and a workplace culture that models respectful behaviour.
The public holiday request you’re skipping
If you expect your team to work public holidays without explicitly asking them first, you may be on shaky ground.
As an employer, you don’t have an unqualified right to make employees work on public holidays. You must make a request first, and whether they can refuse depends on what’s reasonable in the circumstances (not just what the contract says).
A standing notice or reasonable expectation isn’t enough. A genuine request must be made for each public holiday, giving employees a real opportunity to accept or refuse. Only if the refusal is unreasonable can you make them come in. It’s a simple step, but one many businesses skip.
How to fix it
Before each public holiday, make a genuine request, in writing if possible, and give your team a proper chance to respond. Keep a record of who agreed and who didn’t. That paper trail matters if it’s ever questioned.
Easy fixes for trouble-free workplace relations
Workplace relations and the Fair Work system have never been a ‘one and done’ part of running a business.
But the pace of change over the last few years has made that truer than ever. New laws, updated processes and court decisions keep shifting what good looks like.
The good news is most of these issues are straightforward to address once you know about them. A contract review here, a process tweak there, a conversation with your team – small steps that make a real difference if something is ever challenged.
