A FWC full bench has won support from unions and employers for suggested variations to casual employment clauses in awards to avoid friction with Closing Loopholes changes that take effect next month, although the Ai Group has raised a "related issue" it contends needs to be resolved as part of the case.
Four weeks ahead of employees winning a legislated right to disconnect, public service employers have been told they will need to train HR professionals and managers about the interaction of the new entitlement with general protections laws and consider updating job descriptions to ensure they "accurately reflect" expectations about after-hours contact.
Wilson Security unlawfully denied a FIFO guard proper breaks within roster cycles and made him work an extra 15 unpaid minutes for "handover" at the start of each shift, a court has held, but a manager who reinforced the requirement was not an accessory.
FWC President Adam Hatcher has expressed concern about possible confusion arising from the inclusion in all awards of the new right to disconnect outside of working hours, when some awards "specifically contemplate" out-of-hours contact.
A company did not sack a worker for alleged safety breaches and unprofessional behaviour, but rather took unlawful adverse action when it decided to dismiss him because its national HR manager took his queries about pay and flexible work as "badgering" and harassment, a court has ruled.
A senior lawyer says finance sector employers should "urgently review" their employment agreements after a finding that a commission-based advisor is award-covered and that a leading wealth management company cannot use those payments to offset his entitlements.
The AiG is calling for the FWC to reject the ACTU's "misguided and inappropriate" draft "right to disconnect" award clause, and AREEA is recommending the final clause mirror the legislation, rather than expand it.
In a landmark ruling today on franchisors' IR compliance obligations, the Federal Court has imposed a $1.44 million fine on a coffee chain for its franchisees' underpayments and record-keeping breaches.
The FWC's expert panel has this morning approved a 3.75% increase in all award rates and the national minimum wage, but has rebuffed the ACTU's bid for an immediate additional 4% for workers in highly-feminised industries, instead committing to a timetable to address the issue over the next 12 months.
The FWC is inviting submissions by June 11 on a "right to disconnect" audit of all 155 modern awards focusing on terms involving spans of hours, notice, supervisory duties, and requirements to remain on call, on standby or return to duty.
