A trio of IR academics say that DEWR's proposed regulations risk creating a third category of worker that employers might use to downgrade their employees to employee-like workers "resulting in a wider downgrade of the terms and conditions of work across the economy".
The NSW IRC has reinstated a police technician for the second time in six years after he was again sacked for abusive outbursts – this time targeting rail workers during industrial action that affected his commute.
The FWC is considering three applications for authorisation of private agents to conduct protected action ballots, but in the interim it is having to make findings that there are exceptional circumstances for unions to utilise them, such as a need to conduct electronic votes, an option unavailable from default provider the AEC.
In the latest of a rash of PABO decisions since new Secure Jobs provisions took effect on June 6, the FWC has ruled that an employer's bid to bypass unions and put its agreement to a vote provides exceptional circumstances to warrant using a non-AEC ballot agent.
In the first test of new supported bargaining laws, the FWC will hear in mid-August the landmark application to authorise multi-employer negotiations involving 65 employers and 12,000 workers in the early childhood education and care sector.
A HR administrator who exhibited "delusions of grandeur" in her belief that she had been promoted to HR manager has had her general protections claim thrown out by the FWC.
A full Federal Court has ruled a major contractor that lost its aged care contract after almost 20 years could not rely on the "ordinary and customary turnover of labour" provision that would have relieved it of the obligation of making redundancy payments to its employees.
A pharmacy worker sacked for requesting unpaid domestic violence leave has been awarded more than $17,000 compensation after the FWC rejected the employer's claims that performance issues sparked the dismissal.
The Federal Court is today expected to discontinue a mooted $1 billion class action accusing a now-folded workforce management company of misclassifying Telstra technicians as subcontractors, while Shine Lawyers says the workers cannot access the FEG scheme because of the High Court's Jamsek and Personnel Contracting decisions.
A FWC full bench led by President Adam Hatcher has reminded members that they should not undertake or order conciliation in general protections disputes until all jurisdictional issues are resolved.
