In a closely-watched dismissal case contemplating how much weight should be attached to mitigating factors, an FWC majority full bench has reinstated a worker sacked for his foul abuse and threats to colleagues via text messages and phone calls while drunk.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a personal assistant who became entangled in a company power play, finding that her employer's belief that she lied to cover a director's tardiness satisfied the requirements of the small business code.
In a rare case turning on an employee's loss of trust in his employer rather than the other way around, the FWC has stepped back from ordering the reinstatement of a worker found to have been unfairly dismissed, despite describing it as the most "compelling" remedy.
The FWC has ordered a franchisee to compensate an unfairly dismissed employee who contacted head office to report her boss for drunkenness and drink driving in accordance with company whistleblowing provisions.
The FWC has thrown out on natural justice grounds an employer's application for costs against a 75-year-old physiotherapist who died during her unfair dismissal case, having previously indicated she would "vigorously defend" any such bid.
Confusing evidence from Rio Tinto experts might have contributed to a senior FWC member incorrectly assessing the number of safety breaches committed by a dismissed mechanic, a Commission full bench has found.
An employer that slashed its general manager's earnings from $180,000 to $120,000 in the five months leading up to his dismissal has argued that he was paid under a "variable wages agreement" that exceeded the high income threshold when averaged over the year.
In the wake of the public spotlight on the Qantas "inclusive language" guidelines, one of its baggage handlers has failed to convince the FWC that tearing a colleague's shirt, shoving him against a locker and telling him to f-ck off back to his country were not sackable offences but rather a bit of "argy bargy" between friends, consistent with the workplace culture.
A judge has chosen to overlook an admission of adverse action included in a solicitor's "embellished" employer response, despite noting that the statement was approved by the company's director.
