A tribunal has penalised the operator of a string of Adelaide massage parlours who said he refused to keep records and provide pay slips because he was "too busy and lazy".
The Federal Circuit Court has levelled a $75,000 fine and is expected to order more than $25,000 in compensation against the director of a liquidated supermarkets enterprise who withheld about $450,000 in union dues, superannuation and Easter rates from more than 200 employees.
In a decision further clarifying when and to what extent lawyers can become involved in FWC cases, the Commission says its rules do not stop parties seeking legal advice in the lead-up to hearings.
In a decision underlining the challenges for the Commission in managing vulnerable self-represented employees in its bullying jurisdiction, a full bench has rejected an employee's claim that a tribunal member's procedures were responsible for her mental distress.
An FWC full bench led by President Iain Ross has sent a powerful signal to members to back their own judgement in inherent requirements cases where there is conflicting medical evidence, describing a previous full bench decision ceding the final say to employers as "plainly wrong".
RBA Governor Philip Lowe is maintaining his faith that the laws of supply and demand will eventually lead to higher wages, but has conceded that the low growth in pay is a global phenomenon that is troubling central banks and "no-one really knows how long it is going to last".
A court will next month decide whether to punish a former Toll employee after finding that he breached orders restraining him from publishing far-right nationalist videos in which he wears company-branded clothing.
As independent federal MP Cathy McGowan vows to push for a new ministerial sex ban to be extended to all those working in Parliament, an IR lawyer says the approach has little practical use in the private sector where the focus is on disclosure.
In a ruling as to what constitutes "physical effort", a court has found that opening or removing curtains and straps securing a truck's load did not qualify a driver for an extra allowance under a transport industry award.
The aviation services company Aerocare is pushing ahead with a hotly-contested application in the Federal Court to overturn the Fair Work Commission's rejection of a proposed new enterprise agreement.
