A former public health service chief executive who claimed discrimination on the basis of "severe depression" has failed to overturn a tribunal's finding that it lacks the power to hear his bid for reinstatement and compensation.
A Federal Court judge has affirmed the primacy of federal over state laws in determining that NSW workers compensation caps did not shackle the amounts he could award to a long-serving manager whose life was "effectively destroyed" by a new chief executive.
In a significant decision regarding the statutory meaning of "dismissed", a five-member FWC bench majority has ruled that an employer did not sack a worker when it shaved almost 10% off his annual pay for disciplinary reasons.
In a thinly-veiled shot at a tribunal colleague who used her position to criticise vaccine mandates, a senior FWC member has emphasised that it is not for the Commission to undermine the law by entertaining parties' "alternative policy preferences".
In an important ruling on the NSW IRC's jurisdictional powers, the High Court has found that a since-repealed provision did not prevent the State tribunal considering a police officer's unfair dismissal case that challenged his forced retirement on medical grounds.
The FWC has thrown out an unfair dismissal case brought by a law student sacked from a full-time job as a legal assistant for failing to get a COVID-19 jab, finding she did not complete the required minimum employment term after taking time off to sit exams.
The AAT has accused the Attorney-General's Department of "studied ambiguity" in finding it mistakenly denied a worker up to $23,600 under the FEG scheme because his insolvent employer neglected to contribute to an industry entitlements fund.
A full Federal Court has dismissed an on-hire worker's bid to overturn a FWC ruling that it could not force a labour hire company to reinstate him to his former job at client CUB, upholding the tribunal's finding giving primacy to the host employer's right to determine who it allowed on its site.
The FWC has awarded compensation to a sacked childcare worker after noting the "disturbing" failure of a company's HR department to inform the chief executive of protections for employees forced to take time off due to illness or injury.
