In a decision exploring what constitutes a disciplinary investigation, a FWC full bench has quashed a finding that a public transport agency must pay a group of train drivers blocked from attending work after failing to comply with its COVID-19 vaccination policy.
In what might present another opportunity for the Albanese Government to deliver on its promise to rebalance the FWC, the Productivity Commission says it should empower the tribunal to conciliate and arbitrate gig workers' termination and payment disputes.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a disability services manager for including false information on a form, leading to her employer improperly claiming fees and endangering its federal funding.
A union has won a rare order allowing it to inspect the employee records of a business part-owned by a listed company in search of proof of underpayments.
The FWC has found that a HR manager who quit after her employer changed her responsibilities was not forced to resign, noting that although she had to report to a different manager, "a change in a reporting line does not constitute constructive dismissal".
The Productivity Commission says a review of the Albanese Government's new multi-employer bargaining measures should consider amending the Competition and Consumer Act so the ACCC can play a role.
New RBA analysis says productivity and wages have slowed for employers in heavily award-reliant sectors and they are "seemingly less likely to attract staff and grow", but the Centre for Future Work says the answer is "stronger awards" and a collective bargaining recovery.
The Productivity Commission has today recommended the Albanese Government strip back the modern awards objective to seven points and establish an independent dispute resolution mechanism within the FWC for platform workers.
A dumpling chain's HR manager was knowingly concerned in its Fair Work Act contraventions and "did not simply act as a conduit", the Federal Court has held in a liability judgment, finding she also instructed and trained a colleague in a payroll scam using both accurate and inaccurate records.
The Albanese Government is not attracted to "scorched earth" IR policies to address Australia's productivity challenges, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said today, ahead of tomorrow's tabling of the final report of the Productivity Commission's productivity inquiry.
