In a significant ruling on academic free speech, a university lecturer has been given a second chance to challenge his sacking for superimposing a swastika on an Israeli flag after a full Federal Court found insufficient weight had been attached to an agreement's 'intellectual freedom' clause.
The FWC has questioned the choices that left two sacked childcare workers out of pocket despite being awarded compensation of 21 weeks' pay, observing that a "realistic" approach to the employer's settlement offer would have avoided costs that included having a barrister represent them before the tribunal over three days.
A decision by NSW Trains to discipline a manager by shaving almost 10% off his annual pay constituted a dismissal even though he remains in the job and such action is allowed by its agreement and governing regulations, the FWC has held.
The FWC has redrawn an employer's "line in the sand" over the use of mobile phones while driving forklifts, ordering it to reinstate and compensate a worker after concluding he was harshly sacked for a first safety policy breach.
Inghams unfairly sacked an Ethiopian-born worker for failing to weight-check multiple boxes of turkey leg, the FWC has held, noting its failure to provide a translator while "superficially" adhering to correct procedures might explain why it did not know he was following a supervisor's instructions.
A former United Petroleum business sales manager who claims she was sacked for filing a workers' compensation claim and complaining of bullying was in fact ousted for trying to poach its clients and set up a rival business, the fuel retailer alleges.
A FWC full bench has upheld a finding that a Toll health and safety representative was not entitled to be paid for attending the disciplinary meetings of another HSR, or grabbing a coffee after, and was after a "commendable" process rightfully sacked for falsifying his timesheets.
In an important out-of-hours conduct ruling, the FWC has reinstated a veteran train driver sacked after he told his employer that he faced possible imprisonment for blowing four times over the blood alcohol limit when police breath-tested him on the road.
The FWC has upheld a Qube subsidiary's sacking of a truck driver who blamed a positive blood alcohol reading on sucking on three-quarters of a 10-pack of Anticol cough lozenges to counter a dry throat.
FWC Deputy President Gerard Boyce has again run afoul of a tribunal bench, which has reminded him that conduct months after a dismissal cannot be considered when deciding whether an employer has a valid reason.
