In an important Independent Contracts Act ruling, the Federal Court has found that a restraint clause in a contract between a labour hire company and Woolworths rendered unfair a separate contract between the labour hire company and an IT worker it placed with the retailer.
A national transport company has been ordered to pay $25,000 to an employee after it responded to her request for modified duties while pregnant by unilaterally changing her role and cutting her pay by $18,000.
Growth in private sector pay rates excluding bonuses has accelerated to 3.8% a year in trend terms, according to the ABS, as wage rates recover from post-GFC lows.
In a decision sure to be appealed, Fair Work Australia has confirmed that unions facing an employer that refuses to bargain don’t have to seek a majority support order or jump other hurdles before asking members to authorise industrial action.
In a ruling that underlines the need for clear definitions of workplace behaviours that warrant dismissal or disciplinary action, FWA has compensated a childcare worker who was sacked for breaching a "no back biting" policy.
In an important ruling on the rights of employers to monitor and enforce their IT usage policies, the Federal Court has upheld the sacking of a senior public sector executive for viewing pornography on a work laptop while at home.
The question of what constitutes exceptional circumstances to warrant accepting a late unfair dismissal or general protections claim remains unsettled, with the issue yesterday dividing a full bench.
Collective agreement coverage increased significantly while the proportion of workers under awards and individual agreements declined in the two years to mid-2010, according to new ABS data, while IR academic David Peetz has renewed his call for the Bureau to start collecting separate information on non-union agreements, due to their rising importance after the demise of AWAs.
In the wake of the debate over Christmas/New Year public holidays, the Federal Court has this week rejected an SDA bid to establish that when ANZAC Day falls on a Sunday, an additional public holiday is created on the following day for Woolworths employees in South Australia.
