Google AI's unfounded suggestions that an unfair dismissal ruling set a "dangerous precedent" and established an "unsafe principle" highlight the technology's limitations, a FWC full bench has found today.
Uber and Uber Eats gig workers who appear to have used generative AI to challenge their deactivations have failed to win extra time to pursue unfair dismissal applications they lodged five to seven years late.
FWC president Adam Hatcher has fleshed out procedural reforms for general protections claims involving dismissals, which have surged to 57% above the three-year average in the three months to September, while he has also foreshadowed the next areas he will target.
Australia can learn from the "disappointing" under-utilisation of Spain's groundbreaking menstrual leave entitlement during its first year, due to fear of discrimination at work and the limitations of its model, according to an employment lawyer.
A paid agent claiming to have never been told of any complaints about its services has welcomed FWC suggestions to regulate the industry while insisting the Commission should "surgically" root out "bad actors" rather than take a shotgun approach that could raise costs for workers contesting dismissals.
The Law Council has endorsed the FWC's quest for stricter regulation of paid agents, but warned it off considering the "capacity" of lawyers to act for parties in cases before the Commission.
The law firm whose advocacy helped spur the FWC to consider regulating paid agents has called for improved "referral pathways" that steer workers contesting their dismissals towards pro bono clearing houses, Legal Aid and the community legal sector.
An experienced former employer-clientele lawyer turned HR manager has suggested that one way of discouraging paid agents from pursuing "unwinnable" cases is to introduce a "threshold" settlement amount below which they cannot charge clients for their services.
The FWC should look to the South Australian paid agent model because its registration criteria and disciplinary powers for code of conduct breaches are superior to the Western Australian system, the WA IRC's registrar says in a submission to the FWC's consultation on options to rein in "challenging paid agent conduct".
The FWC is seeking feedback on options to rein in "challenging paid agent conduct" including new laws to establish a registration system and make it clear the tribunal can consider representatives' "capacity" when granting permission, plus a code of conduct.
