In a rare Federal Court ruling on reasonable additional hours, a large employer faces penalties for numerous Fair Work Act and award breaches after being found to have employed a recently-arrived "third-world" migrant on a 50-hour week in which shifts began at 2am.
The historic work-value case for aged care workers began today with signs the union claim for pay increases of 25% will be closely-scrutinised by employers, with more than 100 witnesses required for cross-examination.
In its continuing push for a highly-flexible On Demand Delivery Industry Award, Menulog is arguing the Road Transport Award is not up to the task on multiple fronts, including minimum engagement periods, penalty rates and "unsustainable" minimum wages.
Australia's largest bus operator has been fined $181,000 after a judge considered an internal email to its chief executive warning of the "very real possibility of being accused of 'wage theft'" if it did not pay more than 750 drivers an overdue wage increase.
Hospitality workers on at least 25% above-award annualised salaries will earn overtime for such work beyond 12 hours a week or penalty rates for working more than 18 penalty rate hours, but the FWC concedes the minimum is "nowhere near enough" to compensate many.
A FWC full bench has agreed to inspect nursing homes when it starts hearing an aged care work value case later this month, while Labor has backpedalled on a plan to require facilities to roster registered nurses on 24/7 by July next year.
Victoria's Andrews Labor Government is calling for an increase of at least the CPI - currently 3.5% - to the federal minimum wage and all modern award rates on the basis that consumer price inflation movements mean anything less would be a pay cut.
The ACTU will pursue a 5% increase across all award rates in this year's minimum wage review, arguing it is needed to compensate workers for cost of living pressures.
A full Federal Court has cleared the way for a police officer injured while on duty to argue the NSW police commissioner acted in a discriminatory manner in demoting then medically discharging him.
The Federal Court has applied the "precautionary principle" in accepting the FWO's view on the process for calculating underpayments for 19,000 salaried Woolworths employees, while it has also indicated that jointly managing the matter with a similar Coles case "would be useful".
