The implications of today's High Court decisions affirming the primacy of contractual terms in determining employment relationships are "extremely concerning, perhaps even frightening" for those concerned about the integrity of the IR system, an academic says.
The High Court has affirmed the primacy of contractual terms in determining employment relationships, finding a construction worker was an employee of a labour hire company and that two truck drivers were independent contractors despite decades of exclusive service to a solitary business.
A Federal Court judge has accepted that the CFMMEU's offer to foot the bill for external training of its officials amounted to exhibiting enough contrition to keep a lid on penalties for entry breaches.
McDonald's is facing fresh claims it deliberately denied paid rest breaks to thousands of workers in its own restaurants, with the fast food behemoth already up against a class action and multiple cases accusing it of conspiring with franchisees on the issue.
Telstra is being sued by former customers who allege it is liable for the actions of a past employee who stalked the couple after he accessed confidential contact details.
A judge has walked the fine line between factoring in the CFMMEU's history of legal transgressions and imposing a sanction proportionate to the breach by adding $10,000 to penalties levied on the union after an official blew cigarette smoke in an ER coordinator's face.
A foreign-owned private golf club and its multi-millionaire owner are being sued by a former sales representative who claims her pursuit of underpayments led to a warning that it would "end badly" for her if she travelled to China.
The Federal Court has trimmed the amount of interest to be added to its $2 million-plus damages ruling against the MUA after finding that Patrick and Qube took a "desultory" approach to pursuing the union over unlawful bans at Port Botany in 2017.
