The FWC's edginess over small-cohort deals has come to the fore again after a member exercised his discretion to allow unions to insert themselves in the approval process for an agreement voted up by three workers, despite having no standing as bargaining representatives.
A lawyer who failed to follow "the most basic of instructions" during FWC proceedings and proved to be "exceptionally difficult to deal with", experienced reasonable management action rather than bullying when DEWR raised issues about his tardiness, falling asleep in meetings and delays in producing work.
"There is nothing inherently unfair about a small group" and an enterprise agreement could be made with as few as two employees, a FWC full bench has ruled, in rejecting an employer's argument on appeal that the Commission should not have issued a majority support determination because the chosen group made up only a small proportion of the workforce.
Nurses' strikes on hold while IRC arbitrates; ACTU refused leave to intervene in rail case; BOOT-related undertakings clinched multi-employer deal; and New NSW small claims jurisdiction.
Qantas will pay $120 million into a fund to compensate about 1800 former ground handling workers for economic and non-economic loss they suffered as a result of the airline's unlawful outsourcing their jobs during the pandemic, though it is not yet clear how much each individual might receive or how this is to be determined.
In a speech reflecting on the concept of open justice that draws on a case involving former IR Minister Christian Porter, Federal Court Chief Justice Debra Mortimer has acknowledged there is "frustration on both sides" since the court stopped making unrestricted documents available to non-parties "as of right" before a first directions hearing or a hearing.
Victoria to crack down on construction industry labour hire; Minimum pay panel seeks feedback on proposed research; FWC guidance on adding employers to multi-deals; Amended report on High Court damages case; and Gig and transport codes apply from late February.
Professionals Australia has found the inclusion of a disconnect clause in an agreement or award doesn't go far enough and has drafted a model policy to drive the cultural change necessary to enable workers to exercise the right, which took effect in August for most workers.
A FWC full bench has advised a worker of her right to enforce in court a seven-months-late $32,000 unfair dismissal compensation order, after it ruled that a commissioner correctly understood that the company misinterpreted her "this is shit" curse in her "thick" Scottish accent as "I quit".
