The NSW Parliament has passed legislation providing an industrial manslaughter offence punishable by jail terms of up to 25 years for individuals and fines for companies of up to $20 million - the largest in Australia - along with new laws extending the State's portable long service leave scheme.
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.
The FWC has urged David Jones to improve its retrenchment processes, while opening the way for a long-serving worker to pursue an unfair dismissal case after the department store deemed her unsuitable for redeployment to an area serving "elevated" clientele.
The taxpayer-funded FEG scheme has won court orders putting it in the box seat to claw back more than $600,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements handed out to the former employees of a liquidated company.
The FWC has refused to reduce two FIFO workers' redundancy pay, finding that redeployment offers did not amount to "other acceptable employment" because they were given insufficient time to consider roster changes that would also have reduced their time at home.
The FWC has found a paramedic is not entitled to a living-away-from-home allowance as he chose rather than was directed to undertake additional training his employer provided 200 kilometres from his residence.
An employer did not discriminate against a lawyer when it twice declined to roll over short, fixed-term contracts that would have entitled her to paid maternity leave, an appeal panel has found.
Employers say they are approving most flexible hours and work from home requests, according to a FWC-commissioned modern awards review survey that suggests the tribunal might explore entrenching a right to fully flexible arrangements for work that can be performed remotely.
A "broad coalition" of unions will call at this week's ACTU Congress in Adelaide for the peak group to press the Albanese Labor Government to legislate next year to insert 10 days reproductive health leave into the NES, according to key affiliate the Queensland Council of Unions.
