The SDA has shot back at the ARA's claim that the FWC would be "abdicating" its duty if it delays a bid to reform penalty rates in the retail award ahead of mooted legislation, citing the Fair Work Act's commitment to upholding a stable system as reason to defer the matter.
Menulog has abandoned its stop-start, four-year effort to create an award specific to food delivery platforms, citing the effects of the Albanese Government's legislation around employee-like workers and "operational challenges".
Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth's plan to legislate "as soon as possible" to protect award-enshrined penalty rates has prompted the FWC to seek submissions on whether to shelve a major employer bid to insert a conditions buy-out clause in the retail award for workers on as little as $53,680 a year.
The Ai Group has accused Labor of disregarding its re-empowered IR umpire by taking out of its hands decisions to remove or reduce award penalty rates.
The use of rolling fixed-term contracts in the tertiary education sector is set to come under close scrutiny by a FWC full bench, while the tribunal has also moved ahead with its review of two arts sector awards in the wake of its inconclusive "targeted" examination of modern awards.
Employers and unions have confirmed the gulf that exists over 'right to disconnect' laws that come into force today, the former lamenting a lack of FWC guidance on "reasonable" contact and forecasting "conflict and disharmony", while the latter hailed the new provisions as "reclaiming the right to knock off".
A FWC full bench has won support from unions and employers for suggested variations to casual employment clauses in awards to avoid friction with Closing Loopholes changes that take effect next month, although the Ai Group has raised a "related issue" it contends needs to be resolved as part of the case.
The FWC is inviting final comment on proposed variations to 147 awards to reflect the elevation of superannuation to a guaranteed NES right under last year's Protecting Worker Entitlements legislation.
University research commissioned by the FWC has identified 29 "large, highly feminised" and probably undervalued occupations covered by 13 modern awards that it might spotlight in the current annual wage review, in response to the Secure Jobs' imperative to address unequal remuneration and gender undervaluation in minimum rates of pay.
Interested parties have until June 16 to respond to a FWC bench's proposal to amend model award terms to highlight the two "alternative and parallel avenues" now available to resolve disputes over flexible work and unpaid parental leave requests.
