Interpretation of agreements page 15 of 29

286 articles are classified in All Articles > Agreements and bargaining > Interpretation of agreements


Employer's blood-alcohol limit change "impermissible"

A tribunal has upended a large transport company's "unilateral" decision to change to zero its blood alcohol policy limit for contracted owner-drivers, finding a toolbox meeting and noticeboard postings did not meet the governing agreement's consultation requirements.

Virgin Australia pilots sue for millions

A group of Virgin Australia pilots suing the airline for about $2 million claim a commitment to provide command positions or equivalent pay by mid-2016 entitles them to captains' future salary increases under a new deal, regardless of whether they perform the role.

WHS Act no shield from cruel conditions, says employer

A McDonald's franchise that says it can otherwise stop workers from going to the toilet if it provides a 10-minute paid break contained in their agreement has told a court that Queensland's WHS Act does not entitle employees "to be protected from cruel and inhumane working conditions".

Company fails to block FWC intervention on pay downgrade

An employer that unilaterally reduced the classification levels of two workers previously handed a pay upgrade has failed to convince the FWC it had no power to intervene in a contractual issue "masquerading" as an enterprise agreement dispute.

FWC deep-dives on nature of work

The importance of 'choice versus direction' in determining whether employees are working or not has been highlighted in an FWC decision considering the case of boat masters and crew having their unpaid meal breaks interrupted to assist passengers on multi-day dive trips.

Bank not in deal breach despite IT worker's cloud-based fears

An IT specialist with a major bank has failed to persuade the FWC that deployment to a new cloud-first role represented an agreement breach because it placed unreasonable demands on his fading capacity to learn.


BHP Coal required unreasonable overtime: Court

The Federal Court has held that a BMA coal loading facility breached a reasonable overtime clause in its enterprise agreement by requiring workers to perform more than eight additional hours per week.

FWC releases "business needs" brake on reclassification

The FWC has ordered aerospace company Boeing to promptly deal with a tradesperson's reclassification bid, finding the company's repeated refusal to do so in breach of its enterprise agreement.

Court makes crucial ruling on travel time

In a decision that could have employers re-thinking standard travel and hours terms in agreements, the Federal Court has found in favour of a CFMMEU-backed class action that argued workers should be paid for transit time between security gates and their worksite.