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.
A five-member FWC full bench has wound up its "targeted" review of modern awards with a report acknowledging that while a "lack of consensus" meant it could not determine key issues, it will now kickstart consideration of six "priority" matters that include simplifying the retail award, developing a working-from-home term in the clerks award and reviewing fixed-term contract provisions in higher education awards.
Parties involved in the FWC's consideration of gender undervaluation in five care and community sector awards will have a chance to agree on a methodology for assessing work value at a conference next Monday.
A five-member FWC full bench has decided work value pay rises of up to 28.5% for aged care workers should be staggered, with many to receive half their increase from January and the second half from next October.
FWC President Adam Hatcher will conduct a directions hearing on Friday to consider an SDA bid to lift award junior rates for under-18 workers and abolish them altogether for those 18 and above, with the union arguing that age should not be a criterion for setting pay.
FWC President Adam Hatcher has expressed concern about possible confusion arising from the inclusion in all awards of the new right to disconnect outside of working hours, when some awards "specifically contemplate" out-of-hours contact.
The AiG is calling for the FWC to reject the ACTU's "misguided and inappropriate" draft "right to disconnect" award clause, and AREEA is recommending the final clause mirror the legislation, rather than expand it.
The ACTU says the "right to disconnect" clause to be inserted into awards should provide "descriptive guidance" on how the entitlement would operate and the FWC should reject employers' proposed "minimalist" approach, ahead of consultations next week and the Commission releasing a draft provision next month.
Employers say they are approving most flexible hours and work from home requests, according to a FWC-commissioned modern awards review survey that suggests the tribunal might explore entrenching a right to fully flexible arrangements for work that can be performed remotely.
The FWC's expert panel has this morning approved a 3.75% increase in all award rates and the national minimum wage, but has rebuffed the ACTU's bid for an immediate additional 4% for workers in highly-feminised industries, instead committing to a timetable to address the issue over the next 12 months.
