Employers who refuse a flexible work request have to do their own homework on the ramifications and spell it out clearly in writing, a FWC full bench has held in ordering a school to accommodate a teacher's wish to temporarily work part-time in an executive role while she manages her return from parental leave.
The Federal Court's top judge has approved a $180 million "stolen wages" settlement for Indigenous workers in the NT, but not before expressing dismay at the "excessive level of human resources" used by Shine Lawyers in pursuing the matter and sounding a warning about the rising incidence of litigation funders in class action cases.
The UFU has failed to convince the FWC that Fire Rescue Victoria used a procedurally unfair process when it suspended two workers, after Victoria's anti-corruption body found they accessed private work emails at Victorian branch secretary Peter Marshall's request.
The FWC has refused to approve a new deal for hamburger chain Grill'd despite 94% of employees voting it up, after finding some of its young workforce might not have understood they would be only 77 cents a week better off than under the award.
In its first decision on whether to give "removed" CFMEU construction division officials the chance to pursue jobs at other unions, the FWC has cleared former Queensland branch assistant leader Kane Lowth to take up a part-time role with the ETU but stopped short of allowing him to hold office or represent it in bargaining.
The Federal Court has refused to knock out an ETU claim that an employer fraudulently withheld information from the FWC when seeking approval for a new deal, allegedly concealing that the bulk of those voting had been engaged solely to take part in the ballot.
A FWC full bench has emphatically quashed a deputy president's decision to bin a worker's unfair dismissal application with five hours' notice just two days before Christmas, finding he misapplied the Commission's powers and "misapprehended" the facts.
Pharmacists will receive a 14.1% pay boost after a much-anticipated ruling by a FWC expert panel that scrutinised gender undervaluation, while employees under four other awards covering health professionals, disability services and daycare will have to wait for increases of up to 35% as questions of funding and new classifications are further investigated.
The FWC has found that a company director fell below the high-income cap because he reduced his pay through "wage loans" when the business struggled and the loans amounted to debts rather than earnings, or payments that could not be determined in advance.
The FWC has thrown out a UFU bid for dispute orders forcing Fire Rescue Victoria to "take sides" and reveal its role in a report to Victoria's Parliament that criticises an agreement clause requiring union consultation and "consensus" before implementing change.
