In a significant decision on the FWC's arbitral powers, a full bench has provided further "clarification" of its ruling in a dispute after an employer "disobeyed" its finding that seven workers should be reclassified at a higher level.
With many self-represented workers turning to artificial intelligence to prepare material to file in the FWC, a senior member has articulated concerns after navigating an apparently AI-generated claim containing "evolving" reasoning and a non-existent authority.
The FWC has awarded $15,000 compensation to a couple sacked within hours of each other for allegedly bullying the same manager by invoking a "summoning ritual" involving a pentagram and rubber ducks, and "mocking" her in a workplace chat group.
A NDIS-registered medical provider's "frivolous" spending on "staff wellbeing" birthday celebrations and "recklessness" in hiring new staff while struggling to meet a speech pathologist's redundancy entitlements has helped undo its bid to slash her payout.
A senior FWC member has tripled the compensation sought by a worker sacked after her mother called the employer to convey in "abrupt and firm" tones that it should stop insisting on documentary evidence of a close relative's sudden death before paying bereavement leave.
A power industry worker who invited a colleague to continue their verbal jousting "outside" and told his supervisor to "get f--ked too" has won his job back after the FWC found his actions out of character in circumstances where he faced significant family health issues and "banter" was part of the workplace culture.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of an experienced electrician burned by a fireball, factoring in his failure to wear a face shield and rejecting his claim that "delirium" made him fudge a risk assessment.
A public servant who claimed he should have received six weeks carer's leave to escort his frail father back to India for a specialist's appointment and physiotherapy has failed to convince a senior FWC member, who found no evidence to suggest he could not have been treated locally.
The FWC has applauded an employer for its "strong stance" in sacking a worker who told a toolbox meeting that Chinese people are "taking our jobs", but nevertheless awarded him $4000 compensation because of shortcomings in the dismissal process.
Interested parties have six weeks to provide feedback on the performance of eight protected action ballot agents approved under Secure Jobs legislation.
