A full Federal Court has ruled that two housekeepers who were pushed onto Odco-style independent contractor arrangements continued to be employees after the purported conversion, but also found that their employer had not contravened the Fair Work Act's sham contracting provisions.
A four-member Fair Work Commission full bench has ruled that the tribunal has the power to insert in modern awards a provision penalising employers for late payment of wages, but has left it to another bench to decide next week whether the proposal has merit.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has found links between the former Victorian Coalition Government's budget cuts and public sector employment practices that could have breached the Fair Work Act.
A five-member bench of the Federal Court has ruled that a company was entitled to summarily dismiss an executive employee for serious misconduct that destroyed the relationship of trust between them, even though it had moved earlier to terminate his employment on six months' notice.
A court has ordered former directors of related liquidated companies to compensate a construction worker for underpayments owing under a modern award and its state predecessor, finding that the Fair Work Act's remedy provisions extend beyond employers.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has asked a Victorian Government agency to urgently review the way it engages workers, after an investigation revealed it might be "misclassifying" employees as independent contractors.
The Fair Work Commission has granted Patrick Stevedores' Port Botany workers access to how they scored when assessed to fill the reduced number of positions at the terminal post-automation, while at the same time venting frustration at the warring parties and withdrawing from private arbitration.
The Abbott Government will ease the gender reporting requirements on employers, in a move that it claims will cut compliance costs by more than a third.
The Federal Court has criticised the Federal Circuit Court for ignoring a protocol between the two judicial bodies in its decision to transfer a sham contracting matter to it, but will hear the case to avoid a "tennis match".
A FWC full bench has overturned the suspension of 12 CFMEU officials' entry permits, finding that the original sanctions were not linked to the resolution of an ongoing right of entry dispute but appeared to be punishment for past bad behaviour.
