Woolworths has been hit with another underpayments class action, at the same time it is defending a shareholder class action accusing it of breaching disclosure rules by failing to keep the market informed about the extent to which it has shortchanged staff.
A House of Representatives committee has begun an inquiry into the "operation and adequacy" of the National Employment Standards, after a referral from Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth.
The TWU is hoping a consent position reached with DoorDash and Uber Eats for a "world-leading" hourly-rates safety net will prompt the FWC to include the agreed pay and conditions in a minimum standards order for the industry.
A four-member FWC full bench has formally put on hold a review of the right to disconnect provisions, due to a paucity of case law, but recent commentary by tribunal president Adam Hatcher and leading academic lawyer Andrew Stewart indicate the jury is still out on the reasons for the litigation deficit and the impacts of the reforms.
On-hire workers at a Queensland coal mine who late last year won same-job, same-pay orders did not qualify for any portion of an annual bonus paid to the host's employees, the FWC has held, while separately finding the mine must pay the full incentive to its part-time direct employees, and those on unpaid leave or workers compensation.
The FWC has backed an ASX-listed early education provider's decision to reject a worker's request for flexible arrangements to enable her to keep picking up her children from school each day, instead of moving to a less-accommodating rotating roster.
A government department has won an appeal against a finding that a QNMU delegate's decision to send confidential patient information to her home email during a dispute with her unit manager did not constitute misconduct because she did not "deliberately" breach accepted standards.
The FWC's approach to assessing flexible work disputes is potentially undermining workers' rights to plan ahead, an academic has warned, after the tribunal held that a Sydney Water employee could not make such a request in the lead-up to his 55th birthday, and found a father ineligible until he finalised his custody arrangement.
A former Queensland Office of IR principal inspector has failed to halt disciplinary action over incendiary messages he exchanged with colleagues on the Signal app over plans to close his business unit, including saying he was ready to "b-tch-flog" a female boss and use a piece of "4x2 with rusty nails".
