The Federal Court has rejected Skycity Adelaide casino's bid to dismiss for want of prosecution an employee's claim that it sacked him for whistleblowing, finding it "would have an air of punishment about it".
The FSU says employers are now on notice that they must have genuine business grounds for refusing flexible work arrangements, after the FWC made orders to enable a Westpac employee to work from home to care for her children, finding "no question" her role can be "performed completely remotely".
The FWC has found a flexible working request invalid, because of its "tenuous" connection to the worker's caring responsibilities and the strain his absence would have imposed on other workers.
A roadside assistance and financial institution discriminated against a customer service officer by requiring clearance from her husband's specialist to confirm she would not put him at risk by returning to the office during the pandemic, a tribunal has held.
A model working from home clause in a key award should avoid contributing to remote workers working "long and unsociable hours", address employer provision of equipment and apply to all employees, according to a Centre for Future Work report.
A senior HR manager has failed to establish that Uniqlo forced her to resign by rejecting her requests to return two days a week after parental leave, the FWC noting she was "clearly aware" of her right to lodge a flexible work dispute.
Australia "remains a global laggard" on work/family benefits and the next federal government should extend paid parental leave to 52 weeks, split carers and personal leave into separate 10-day entitlements, and investigate extending personal/carers and annual leave to casual workers, according to an academic group's report.
The FWC has upheld a worker's flexible work request after his employer ended an informal 13-year arrangement, in a decision reaffirming the precedence of the NES, even when it is inconsistent with the terms of an enterprise agreement.
The FWC has accepted that a company made a HR manager redundant on her return from parental leave due to her discomfort with interviewing English-speaking job candidates and downsizing directions from its Chinese head office, rather than her status as a new mother.
The FWC has warned employers against giving "generic and blanket HR answers" when they provide their "reasonable business grounds" for knocking back flexibility requests, before ultimately rejecting a bid from a worker with challenging caring responsibilities to continue working entirely from home.
