The FWC has finally brought the curtain down on a legal secretary's "spiteful" six-year campaign against her sacking, finding her "incredibly patient" employer had a valid reason to dismiss her after she blocked it from assessing her reasons for a lengthy absence.
In a significant ruling on what constitutes a "genuine" effort to reach agreement while bargaining, a FWC full bench has upheld a member's decision to grant a PABO to a union, despite it having met with the employer only once by the time its application came before the tribunal.
A FWC member has refused to be drawn into a dispute between a private rail freight operator and the RTBU over whether a remote locality allowance should be calculated on travel by road or "as the crow flies", concluding that she could not disentangle conflicting versions about its inclusion in an agreement.
Amazon will require its corporate employees across the globe, including in Australia, to return to the office five days a week from early next year to strengthen the company's culture, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
A FWC senior member has warned Virgin Australia pilots that if they reject a recommended offer, including what the TWU says is a "historic" pay boost of up to 21% over three years and a sign-on bonus, it will create "further uncertainty and prevent substantive pay increases" for all.
The FWC has extended time for a worker's one-day-late unfair dismissal claim, finding his employer's "misleading" letter confirming his sacking resulted in his representative miscalculating the deadline.
The FWC's bid to develop an award clause removing impediments to working from home looks to be a slow burn, with a hearing likely next June following a possible employee survey.
The FWC has granted separate extensions of time to two workers challenging their dismissals, after attaching significant weight to the deaths of close family members.
The FWC has extended time by seven hours for a care worker to lodge her unfair dismissal claim after a loose power cord stymied a paid agent's "imprudent and careless" late night filing efforts.
