Australia's largest rail freight operator, Aurizon, has been ordered to provide the full pro-rata rate of pay to a train driver who was to receive a reduced amount under a compassionate grounds/short-term medical disability clause when she returned part-time from maternity leave.
The Fair Work Commission has refused to reverse the dismissal of an OHS manager who used his employment-related LinkedIn account to send abusive personal emails, directed "expletive rich" language at his manager and declined to participate in a performance plan.
A FWC full bench has rejected a sacked Qantas pilot's argument that spiking of his drink meant he couldn't be held responsible for s-xually assaulting a female flight crew member during a stopover in Chile.
The FWC has rejected a "things are different on a mining site" defence from a Fortescue Metals Group worker dismissed for holding a piece of broken glass to the throat of a colleague.
The Fair Work Commission has ruled that it is unreasonable for an employer to direct workers to attend a compulsory health assessment designed to address high injury levels without first establishing genuine need.
The CFMEU's construction division says a major builder has already offered to roll out its new drug and alcohol policy across its sites, just hours after announcing it.
A tribunal has found an employee's severe morning sickness is a "disability" but has rejected the bulk of her discrimination claims, including that her employer failed to make reasonable changes to her hours and conditions.
The head of the Fair Work Commission's anti-bullying panel has highlighted the key cases in the new jurisdiction's first year, and revealed that many employers are failing to follow their own internal procedures when dealing with bullying complaints.
Employers are likely to rely more heavily on zero tolerance drug and alcohol policies to discipline or dismiss employees, even when there is no evidence of impairment, after an important full Federal Court ruling yesterday.
In its first full bench examination of the Fair Work Act's reinstatement provisions, the FWC has ruled it has no power to attach conditions to orders returning dismissed workers to their jobs.