A parliamentary inquiry has recommended the Albanese Government consider amending the Fair Work Act's right to request flexible work to ensure menopausal women can access it, while it also wants reproductive leave added to the NES and awards.
The ACTU is calling for flexible work arrangement requests to extend to reproductive health issues, ahead of consideration of the issue at next week's triennial Congress in Adelaide.
A tribunal has awarded $236,000 in damages, plus potential further lost earnings and interest, to a long-serving language teacher who developed a psychological injury when his employer "excluded" him from the workplace for two years after he suffered a debilitating spinal stroke.
A heavy vehicle diesel mechanic who suffered a non-work-related wrist injury has won $44,000 in damages after his employer failed to offer reasonable adjustments and made "clumsy" and "ill-informed" attempts to re-engage him while awaiting "full clearance".
A tribunal has ordered a disability support service to pay a worker $10,000 damages and three months wages, after it failed to engage her because of her disability.
A judge has dismissed a worker's claims of disability discrimination and adverse action and upheld his sacking for aggressive workplace behaviour, finding that he should have told his employer upfront of his mental health issues and his autism diagnosis.
The Albanese Government's first major tranche of IR legislation beefs-up workers' rights to secure flexible working arrangements and empowers the FWC to arbitrate if conciliation of a refused request fails.
The ANMF has told the Senate work and care inquiry that ordinary full-time hours should be reduced from 38 hours to 32 to enable workers to achieve a better balance of work and caring responsibilities.
A leading gender and IR expert says Australian policymakers should "pay attention" to a UK parliamentary inquiry's recommendation that the Johnson Government make menopause a protected characteristic under anti-discrimination laws and that employers implement more menopause-friendly policies.
In a general protections ruling, a court has awarded $160,000 in compensation and damages to a stonemason dismissed because of his work-related silicosis.
