A casual cook has been cleared to contest her dismissal after the FWC found she was caught between the competing interests of two workplaces in responding to the Victorian Government's single employer directive at the height of that State's COVID-19 outbreak.
The FWC has given Santos, and AWU and the AMWU a recommended framework for consulting over pandemic-related proposals such as quarantining, suggesting they discuss current disputes concerning the gas giant's Cooper Basin workforce with a view to putting it into practice.
The FWC has rejected a long-serving worker's portrayal of herself as a "victim" of powerful HR forces, finding her displeasure at being asked to account for money raised for a deceased colleague's family led her into serious misconduct.
In a decision highlighting the difference between "genuinely trying to reach agreement" and "good faith bargaining", the FWC has rejected an HSU application for a protected action ballot order and found its own conduct wanting.
The FWC has for the first time retrospectively extended a single interest employer bargaining authorisation, avoiding the need for a group of schools to obtain a ministerial declaration after 14 months of negotiations and a successful second ballot.
The FWC has reinforced the importance of following safety guidelines to the letter in upholding the dismissal of a scaffolder whose sore hands proved to be the result of hepatitis rather than a head "bang" he took more than a week to report.
In a significant decision on calculating compensation for unfairly dismissed workers, an FWC bench has concluded that a presidential member failed to properly account for JobSeeker payments or fully articulate the reasoning behind her final figure.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is set to promise to legislate job security as a key objective of the Fair Work Act, along with empowering the FWC to set minimum standards for gig workers.
In a significant decision on FWC powers, a full bench has found the tribunal could not force a labour hire company to reinstate a worker to his former job at client Carlton United Breweries, given the beer giant was contractually entitled to order his removal.
