A FWC full bench has upheld the reinstatement of a Sydney Trains employee found to have traces of cocaine in his system, despite ruling that a senior member wrongly concluded that employers need to establish workers who fail drug and alcohol tests are at risk of being "impaired" before sacking them.
The Federal Court has suppressed a Channel Seven producer's statement of claim and other documents lodged in connection with her general protections claim, saying that releasing details of alleged workplace behaviours would reduce the chances of achieving a mediated outcome by taking a "bargaining chip" off the table.
More than 33,000 WA public sector workers are in line for a 12.5% pay increase over three years and up to 27 weeks of "more flexible" parental leave for both caregivers, as the CPSU Civil Service Association pledges to keep fighting for a four-day work week.
The FWC has made it clear that HR managers should not inform employees about company policies as a "tick and flick" exercise, finding an employer harshly sacked a worker who had no understanding of his unacceptable behaviour when he bullied a colleague for supposedly "sucking up" to their manager.
In a case that underlines the Commission's challenges in dealing with self-represented parties, a FWC member has refused to step back from hearing an anti-bullying claim, finding that a worker's 18 grounds for recusal, including the "unjust removal" of the worker's advocate from a hearing, had "no logical connection" with any possibility of bias.
In a warning to employers undertaking investigations of workplace complaints, the FWC has ordered a mushroom grower to compensate a former harvest team leader sacked on the basis of "scanty" hearsay evidence and the "sheer number" of allegations about bullying and racial discrimination.
A full Federal Court has found Qube Ports lacked standing to retrospectively vary expired agreements, clearing the way for the CFMEU's maritime division to pursue the stevedoring giant for millions in allegedly wrongly-deducted "gap" payments from up to 1000 wharfies' remuneration.
NSW PSA members have voted to accept a 10% pay rise over three years plus a 1% super boost in what State Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says is "proof that a mature government" can negotiate a deal that's good for both taxpayers and workers.
FWC President Adam Hatcher is seeking feedback by October 25 on draft same-job, same-pay guidelines, including on whether the Commission should publish them.
The majority privately-owned operator of NSW's high-voltage electricity network and unions have until next Monday to agree on terms for a new agreement before handing matters over to a FWC full bench to resolve any outstanding issues via an intractable bargaining determination.
