Dismissal Disputes Can Now Move Faster. Here’s why your paperwork matters more than ever.
Since 7 July 2026, changes to the Fair Work Act have altered the way the Fair Work Commission can deal with some dismissal-related disputes. The details are technical, but the takeaway for any...
Is AI Making Workplace Conflict Worse? Or are we becoming better at documenting conflict than resolving it?
As someone who spends every day helping employers navigate workplace conflict, I've noticed a subtle but important shift over the past 12 to 18 months. I'm not convinced Australian workplaces are...
Stay Interviews: The Retention Tool Hiding in Plain Sight
Most business owners have experienced it, an employee resigns and suddenly everyone starts asking questions. Why are they leaving? Could we have done something differently? Were they unhappy? Did...
Termination Is A Process, Not A Moment – Why the steps before dismissal matter most
Termination decisions are under greater scrutiny We are seeing a clear shift in the way employees respond to the end of employment. Employees are increasingly willing to challenge dismissal...
The HR Risks Quietly Costing Your Business Money
Most businesses do not ignore HR risk because they do not care. They tend to ignore it because nothing is on fire. The team is showing up. Payroll is being processed. Employees...
Performance Management: What Employers Keep Getting Wrong
Performance management has developed a poor reputation. In many workplaces, the phrase immediately triggers dread. Managers assume it means warnings, conflict, paperwork, and a slow march toward...
Payroll Remediation: From Error to Exposure – Rethinking Payroll Risk
Payroll remediation is no longer a back-office correction. In Australia’s current regulatory climate, it is a matter of governance, executive accountability and reputational risk. Over the past five...
The Year Before Everything Changes: What the 2026 Future of Work Outlook Means for Your Organisation
ThinkerTank has just released its 2026 Future of Work Outlook, and if you lead people or manage workplace risk, it deserves your attention. Drawing on a nationally representative YouGov survey of...
Wake Up Your Workforce: 10 Ways to Smash the January Slump
Re-energise Your Team For The Year Ahead The holiday season has wrapped up, the decorations are tucked away, and workplaces across Australia are switching back into work mode. But January often...
WORK Christmas Parties – Avoiding the Nightmare Before Christmas
The Christmas Party: Festive Fun or HR Fallout? It was the night before the staff Christmas party, and all through the office, not a creature was stirring, except perhaps the manager drafting the...
AI Can Draft, But It Can’t Decide: Why Human Insight Still Matters in HR
We are often asked if we are concerned about our services being replaced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is rapidly changing the way everyone works. For HR, it offers huge potential benefits:...
Federal Court decision in FWO v Woolworths & Coles: What employers need to know about annualised salaries and set-off arrangements
On 5 September 2025, the Federal Court of Australia handed down a landmark decision in proceedings brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and class actions against Coles and Woolworths. The ruling...
The First Day Effect: How Onboarding Shapes Everything That Follows
At EWS, we often see businesses invest heavily in recruitment only to lose momentum once the candidate accepts the offer. After weeks or months of searching, interviewing, and negotiating, the first...
The Hidden Risks of “We’ll Fix HR Later”
HR Delays Are a Ticking Time Bomb — Especially Now In the world of growing businesses, HR is often the first thing to fall behind. Not because leaders don’t care, but because they're caught in the...
Leadership Gaps Are Costing You More Than You Think
You’ve got the policies. You’ve ticked the compliance boxes. So why are things still going wrong? It’s a scenario we see far too often: a well-liked team member is promoted into a leadership...