With many self-represented workers turning to artificial intelligence to prepare material to file in the FWC, a senior member has articulated concerns after navigating an apparently AI-generated claim containing "evolving" reasoning and a non-existent authority.
The FWC has awarded $15,000 compensation to a couple sacked within hours of each other for allegedly bullying the same manager by invoking a "summoning ritual" involving a pentagram and rubber ducks, and "mocking" her in a workplace chat group.
A senior FWC member has tripled the compensation sought by a worker sacked after her mother called the employer to convey in "abrupt and firm" tones that it should stop insisting on documentary evidence of a close relative's sudden death before paying bereavement leave.
A power industry worker who invited a colleague to continue their verbal jousting "outside" and told his supervisor to "get f--ked too" has won his job back after the FWC found his actions out of character in circumstances where he faced significant family health issues and "banter" was part of the workplace culture.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of an experienced electrician burned by a fireball, factoring in his failure to wear a face shield and rejecting his claim that "delirium" made him fudge a risk assessment.
The FWC has applauded an employer for its "strong stance" in sacking a worker who told a toolbox meeting that Chinese people are "taking our jobs", but nevertheless awarded him $4000 compensation because of shortcomings in the dismissal process.
The FWC has found Australia Post's failure to meet its service commitments to blame for a worker's late unfair dismissal claim, with his express mail held up in the tribunal's PO box despite it paying for a daily delivery service.
The FWC has found that an employer had no reasonable option other than to dismiss a worker who persistently refused to comply with its hybrid working policy, based on his belief that his employment contract provided an "unconditional" right to work from home.
The FWC is considering the remedy for an unfairly dismissed labourer after the death of his employer, who sacked him via text message because he lodged a WorkCover claim and planned to take time off to recover from a workplace injury.
