FWC Deputy President Bernadette O'Neill will oversee the new system of expert panels for pay equity and the care and community sector, the tribunal's acting president announced today.
The Federal Court will this morning hear a bid by Teal MP Monique Ryan's chief of staff to keep her job until it finishes dealing with her claims that the Federal Government sacked her for refusing to work unreasonable extra hours and subjected her to "hostile conduct".
The FWC has tentatively listed a March hearing to deal with a RAFFWU bid to axe Apple's 2014 agreement, which claims that reverting to the retail award will strengthen workers' conditions and bargaining position and accuses the $3 trillion company of treating permanent employees like casuals.
FWC general manager Murray Furlong has referred hospitality company Mantle Group's HR manager to the Australian Federal Police for possible criminal prosecution after the tribunal found he deliberately provided false or misleading information about a substandard agreement that allowed the employer to ask workers to perform voluntary additional hours without penalty rates.
Employers say the remuneration bill for workers with a disability covered by the Supported Employment Services Award might increase by up to 50% following variations that the FWC says will give them a "truly comprehensive range of fair minimum wages" for the first time.
A State corporation, in the face of medical evidence, lacked the discretion to deny extra sick leave to a worker with a bad leg break that it believed didn't meet the definition of a serious long-term injury, the FWC has found.
The FWC has moved to correct two perceived wrinkles in the award covering salaried IT professionals, engineers, scientists and gaming sector employees that have led to some being paid as little as $22 per hour and "excessive litigation" over its disputed coverage of unfair dismissal applicants.
An employer that used the wrong company name in its bargaining notice has failed to convince the FWC that it amounted to a minor procedural or technical error that it should overlook when considering whether to approve its agreement.
A FWC member has expressed concern that a new model award clause preventing employers from directing workers to take unpaid leave during shutdowns will lead to more disputes over rejected annual leave requests.
A listed company's "extraordinary" admission that it failed to correct workers who mistakenly believed they had to be union members to negotiate a deal has torpedoed its bid to terminate its agreement.
