The Electrical Trades Union is urging the Albanese Government to close gaps in privacy laws to stop resource employers routinely breaching workers' privacy with mandatory blood sampling before they are engaged, warning that the model is being promoted "as a standard step in the recruitment process in all industries in Australia".
The Federal Court has imposed a record penalty on a sushi restaurant chain to "disabuse" employers of the notion that penalties for underpayments are "an acceptable cost of doing business" and recommended that the Fair Work Ombudsman refer its chief executive's potential flouting of tax and migration laws to the ATO, Department of Home Affairs and ASIC.
NSW public sector employees must now "principally" work from their "approved" office or workplace, after the COVID-19-driven "disruption" to conventional work practices, according to the head of the State's Premier's Department.
The FWC has granted a worker a one day extension for his unfair dismissal claim due to the merits of his case, after he alleged his employer summarily dismissed him for a positive drug test taken during a period of annual leave, when its zero tolerance policy would not apply.
In a case that weighs up employer rights when conducting investigations under commonly-used agreement provisions, a FWC full bench has rejected a worker's request for an investigation report that details his alleged misconduct, but has suggested the employer re-open its probe because it denied him natural justice.
A Macquarie University academic says Medibank employees trialling a four-day "100:80:100" working week are performing better and feeling more motivated, while productivity is unchanged, with some indicating they would choose an employer based on whether the option is available.
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.
The FWC has warned employers against giving "generic and blanket HR answers" when they provide their "reasonable business grounds" for knocking back flexibility requests, before ultimately rejecting a bid from a worker with challenging caring responsibilities to continue working entirely from home.
The FWC has reinstated a long-serving worker accused of violent threats to a colleague, finding the employer's circumstantial evidence fell short and did not establish that the incident occurred.
The ACTU told its employees yesterday they should work from home due to the prospect of protest rallies by supporters of the CFMEU's construction and general division.
