An FWC bench led by President Iain Ross "made no attempt" to analyse how model and agreement redundancy terms would operate in conjunction when assessing whether 21 seafarers had been fairly dismissed, a full Federal Court has found.
The FWC has declined to hear an NRL assistant coach's late claim that his club unfairly dismissed him during the season's temporary suspension due to COVID-19, but has conceded that he might reasonably feel "particularly aggrieved" about his selection for redundancy.
A senior FWC member has found it arguable a childcare worker unreasonably refused a lawful direction when she declined a mandatory flu vaccination, in a decision rejecting her bid for a one-day extension of time for her unfair dismissal claim.
An FWC full bench has emphasised that the pattern of a casual's hours need not be consistent or predictable for their work to be regular and systematic, clearing the way for a full-time worker first engaged as a casual to file an unfair dismissal claim.
A judge has affirmed, in a general protections case alleging "inhumane treatment", the courts' ability to overlook the use of incorrect forms to initiate proceedings.
The FWC has counted a Rio Tinto worker's $20,000-plus remote area travel allowance as earnings that pushed her total income beyond the $153,600 cap for unfair dismissal claims.
The FWC has extended time for an employee sacked for allegedly persistently flouting a COVID-19 OHS plan, after it accepted her law firm's explanation that the stresses of working from home hampered the mental health of the paralegal responsible for lodging her claim.
The Federal Circuit Court has criticised the Federal Department of Agriculture for taking a "belligerent", "intransigent course" in resisting an extension of time and seeking costs against a former employee despite her lawyers accepting full responsibility.
A marijuana-smoking supervisor who allegedly resigned after declining a drug test has had his unfair dismissal claim thrown out because a "project uplift" allowance of at least 25% counted as earnings that pushed him beyond the high-income threshold.