In a significant decision on the Fair Work Act's geographical reach, FWC president Adam Hatcher has questioned whether workers need to be both employed by an Australian company and perform work in the country before enjoying the legislation's protections.
The FWC has taken fewer than 250 words to dismiss a worker's anti-bullying application, finding his complaints about "negative remarks" and being held to a dress code by a NDIS provider "devoid of merit".
The FWC has refused permission for an aviation company and a former manager to be represented by lawyers and an unpaid layperson after they volleyed complaints about each other and offered-up "irrelevant material".
The Federal Court has pushed FWC general manager Murray Furlong's prosecution of Diana Asmar back to next month and asked to her to provide a neurologist's report to ascertain whether she "is capable of managing her own affairs in the proceeding".
The FWC has declined to get involved in the potential sacking of a law professor accused of kissing a student on an "immersion" trip to Paris, despite finding flaws in the disciplinary process.
The FWC has awarded $4000 compensation to an allegedly unhelpful IT help desk employee, reminding employers that performance-managing workers is about clear expectations and the steps required to meet them rather than "handholding".
A judge has questioned the FWO's "vigour" in seeking penalties against an "impoverished" dairy business whose owner is already struggling to make $300 weekly instalments to compensate an underpaid worker.
FWC President Adam Hatcher has refused to stay the deregistration of one auditor and suspension of another found to fallen short in their duties to an embattled HSU branch, concluding that no weight should be given to their "desire for reputational repair" while their appeals are heard.
The FWC has backed Whitehaven Coal's refusal to extend unpaid parental leave for a data reporting specialist, in a landmark decision referring to her "bespoke knowledge" and psychological concerns for colleagues dealing with burgeoning workloads.
