In the FWO's first underpayment prosecution relying on race discrimination prohibitions in the Fair Work Act, a court has found a Tasmanian hotel and its manager deliberately short-changed a head chef and kitchen hand and expected them to work long hours, six days a week because of their Malaysian nationality and Chinese race.
A Federal Court class action against Chubb Insurance Australia Limited for alleged failing to pay minimum rates, overtime and penalties has been discontinued after the lawyers for the employees failed to secure litigation funding.
The FWC is seeking feedback by the end of this month on model terms for unpaid family and domestic violence leave in modern awards and whether the proposed entitlement should be extended to perpetrators, while it is giving parties more time to reply to a report on family-friendly work arrangements.
The AAT has confirmed it has no flexibility to extend Fair Entitlement Guarantee deadlines, knocking back a claim lodged two days after the prescribed 12-month limit.
A court has found an employer took unlawful adverse action against a pregnant worker when it sacked her for taking time off to manage morning sickness and other issues arising from her condition.
An accountancy firm that knowingly failed to maintain current award rates of pay in its MYOB payroll system has been found accessorially liable for an employer's underpayments.
In a rare decision on stand-down provisions under the Fair Work Act, the Federal Court has ruled that a contractor failed to comply with its obligation to pay its permanent part-time school cleaners normally during the 16 weeks of school holidays.
A court has found an employer underpaid a worker by more than $230,000 because it "recklessly disguised the true legal nature" of a 20-year-plus employment relationship by classifying him as an independent contractor.
FWC President Iain Ross has asked a full bench to review abandonment of employment clauses in six modern awards after a recent ruling that employers must take the "additional step" of ending the employment relationship when a worker walks off the job.
