The Albanese Government's promised amendments to casual employment laws will do almost nothing to address employer concerns, according to legal advice from law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, while Workpac says it is concerned about "deeply troubling" comments on the casuals provisions by a senior DEWR official.
In a rare decision exploring the statutory definition of "retirement age", a judge has determined that it is the age at which a person qualifies for the pension, rather than when they can access superannuation.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has agreed to change the way the Closing Loopholes Bill regulates gig economy workers, including a requirement that the FWC set minimum standards that reflect their engagement as independent contractors, while the Senate has today passed single-issue IR Bills split-off from the legislation.
A jeweller who showered a manager with gifts and compliments, along with unrequited declarations of his affections and a slap on the bottom, is facing a record damages payout for sexually harassing her and victimising her for complaining about it, while his law firm is under fire for the "intimidatory and vindictive" tone of its correspondence.
A tribunal has awarded $236,000 in damages, plus potential further lost earnings and interest, to a long-serving language teacher who developed a psychological injury when his employer "excluded" him from the workplace for two years after he suffered a debilitating spinal stroke.
The Qantas "weaponisation" of labour hire underlines the need for the "same job, same pay" provisions in Labor's Closing Loopholes legislation, according to the airline's flight crew union.
A FWC presidential member has taken a harder line on extending notice periods for protected action, rejecting Virgin Australia's bid to increase warnings of strikes and bans from three to seven days, because it would result in diminished worker bargaining power.
Biotechnology giant CSL has made a rare application for bargaining orders against two maintenance unions, the ETU and AMWU, whose members voted up protected action ballots in September.
Container terminal operator DP World says it is facing continuing protected action by MUA members until at least November 13, as the cost of the parties' bargaining impasse mounts.
The Australian Hotels Association has defended its "constructive" approach to negotiations with the Albanese Government on casuals provisions in the Loopholes Bill, after it won concessions that peak body ACCI and other employer organisations say should be rejected.