The FWC has rejected the ACTU's bid for a new entitlement for working parents and carers to work flexible hours, but has provisionally indicated it intends to publish a model award clause that will extend the right to request flexible work to casuals with six months service and require employers to provide more explanation for refusing requests.
Gig economy platform Deliveroo has called on legislators to help provide "the best of both worlds" to their riders by considering workplace law changes that would enable linking of benefits with the number of deliveries, without "sacrificing. . . flexible supplier agreements".
A Senate Committee's call for a target date for full gender pay equity has been seized upon by the union pursuing a four-year long equal-remuneration case before the FWC, but found little support from business or Government members on the Labor-dominated committee.
Responsibility for gender equity strategies should be partially devolved from centralised HR departments to line managers, and training to combat "unconscious bias" in selection processes should be mandated for supervisors and managers, according to a new report on barriers to women's career advancement in higher education.
New RBA research provides tentative confirmation that more flexible IR laws have enabled employers to ride out difficult times by adjusting their employees' hours rather than making them redundant.
Over the next 15 years the nation should abolish the FWC and modern awards, set the minimum wage "as low as is politically feasible" and let the welfare system top up earnings, according to a new paper from an influential free market think tank.
The Government is increasing its target for female representation on federal government boards from 40% to 50%, according to Employment Minister Michaelia Cash.
The ACTU has taken a lifecycle approach in its latest report on the gender pay gap, showing inequity starts early for young girls who typically receive 11% less pocket money and persists into retirement, when women's superannuation balances are on on average less than half those of men.
The Queensland Government says the major review of the state's IR laws will address the powers of its tribunals in a reduced jurisdiction, changed working arrangements and "contemporary issues" such as bullying, domestic violence and work-life balance.
Almost half of federally registered enterprise agreements contain general commitments to improve productivity and a high proportion identify specific productivity measures, but their effectiveness is difficult to measure, according to a new FWC report.
