The Federal Magistrates Court has made the first authoritative ruling on what constitutes ordinary hours of work for payment of notice under the Workplace Relations Act.
The median (rather than average) pay of non-managerial employees on AWAs is 16.3% lower than for those on registered collective agreements, but higher for some employees of big businesses and government departments that use AWAs to avoid unions, according to research for the Victorian Government released today.
Tristar Steering & Suspension Australia Ltd effectively made the positions of 35 workers redundant but unlawfully chose to deny them $3.6m in uncapped severance benefits under their award, instead opting to spend up to $1.9m to keep them in employment for 12 months, the Workplace Ombudsman told the Federal Court today.
Employers and employees covered by more than 50,000 agreements lodged since the starting date of the fairness test on May 7 will begin receiving letters from the Workplace Authority this week telling them if the test applies.
Victorian Police to seek secret ballot for work bans; NSW employers targeted over new child worker laws; Uniting Church calls for probe into union's Woodside Energy sacking claims; and WO prosecutes Video Ezy store over $9,900 underpayment.
Consultant psychiatrists in South Australian public hospitals have voted unanimously today to withdraw their resignations after the State Government agreed to arbitration in the SA IRC based on a recommendation by the commission for a 15% pay loading to attract and retain specialist staff.
In another battle between construction company John Holland and unions over its move into the Comcare self-insurance scheme, the company is now also suing the AMWU under the Trade Practices Act, claiming it misled employees.
An employee who deliberately breached a company policy ban on taking leave during its busy December trading period has lost his unfair dismissal claim, although he produced medical certificates for the leave period, the AIRC found today.
The Federal Court has today found the CFMEU contravened secondary boycott laws, engaged in unlawful coercion and induced a breach of contract on a building site in NSW's Illawarra region in 2003.
Gambling company UNiTAB and its three main unions have been granted a three-year exemption from Queensland's anti-age discrimination laws to allow them to pay higher redundancy entitlements to older employees.
