A full bench comprising the FWC's three most senior members has made same-job, same-pay orders that will increase wages for one labour supplier's workers at a Queensland meatworks by about 25% and provide "significantly higher rates" for a second supplier's workers at the same workplace.
The Federal Court has imposed a record penalty on a sushi restaurant chain to "disabuse" employers of the notion that penalties for underpayments are "an acceptable cost of doing business" and recommended that the Fair Work Ombudsman refer its chief executive's potential flouting of tax and migration laws to the ATO, Department of Home Affairs and ASIC.
After Woolworths again delayed backpaying short-changed distribution centre workers, the FWC has recommended the supermarket giant "do all that is necessary to ensure" it pays affected SDA members at the Brisbane distribution centre, by the end of this month.
In a judgment that casts a harsh light on agreement drafting, a Federal Court majority has described crucial elements of a multinational paint company's since superseded deals as a "jumble of random terms", before quashing a finding that six misclassified warehouse workers had been underpaid.
A senior lawyer says finance sector employers should "urgently review" their employment agreements after a finding that a commission-based advisor is award-covered and that a leading wealth management company cannot use those payments to offset his entitlements.
In a landmark ruling today on franchisors' IR compliance obligations, the Federal Court has imposed a $1.44 million fine on a coffee chain for its franchisees' underpayments and record-keeping breaches.
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.
A massage business and its director must pay more than $2 million in fines and compensation after significantly short-changing temporary visa workers, subjecting them to a "cashback" scheme and threatening to kill their families if they blew the whistle.
Lawyers behind an underpayments class action on behalf of more than 20,000 junior doctors say a $230 million settlement reached with NSW Health is the largest in the nation's legal history and represents a "seismic shift".
Queensland builders have warned that the adoption of union-backed standard "best practice" pay and conditions for major State Government-funded construction projects will hinder productivity, cause delays and escalate costs.
