13. Industrial law

A.  Overview

​Restrictions on trading across a number of sectors, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the Australian economy more generally, may give rise to a variety of industrial issues.  As at 7 May 2020, between 650,000 and one million Australians may have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19, and (more significantly) the social and legal responses to it, and resultant economic impacts.
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This called for a significant legislative response. It has also caused, or significantly affected, numerous proceedings in the Fair Work Commission and the courts, concerning the appropriate allocation of the hardship and loss caused by those changes.

Such industrial issues may be litigated or may be resolved by agreement between employers and employees.

​The areas of law covered by this section are:
A.  Awards.
B.  Enterprise agreements.
C.  Stand-downs, redundancies and terminations.
D.  Jobkeeper.
E.  Remuneration and wages.
F.  Leave entitlements.
G.  Protected action.
H.  Workers compensation and employee safety.

B.  Further resources  There is also a number of useful resources specifically about the Jobkeeper scheme.  These are listed on the Jobkeeper page.