An FWC bench has on the basis of representative error allowed a late unfair dismissal application after noting how thoroughly the employee pursued her claim, remarking "if only her solicitor had been as diligent".
A HR manager whose Christian faith led to him withdrawing an unfair dismissal claim after belatedly accepting he had been genuinely made redundant due to a coronavirus-related downturn has failed to win more time for a second application lodged upon learning new personnel had apparently filled his former role.
A senior FWC member has extended time for an unfair dismissal claim for a retail worker dealing with domestic violence, illness, homelessness and a lack of funds, acknowledging her "true hardship, genuine struggle the likes of which I do not often see".
An FWC full bench has held that it is not empowered to rule on a disbarred lawyer's claim that a senior member is unfit to hold office, but has remitted his unfair dismissal case to another member after finding he was denied procedural fairness.
The FWC has refused to grant an extension to a worker who filed his unfair dismissal application 144 minutes late after grappling with technical difficulties for four hours.
The FWC has accepted an employer's explanation that the "incompetency" of its HR team led it to advertising a redundant position less than two months later and subsequently inviting a former employee to "recommence" his role.
The FWC has reinforced the importance of dismissals being communicated face to face after finding that a worker's claim she never received an emailed termination letter had to be put down to an "unexplained vagary of cyberspace".
In a significant decision unsettling the FWC's approach to general protections applications, a full Federal Court has ruled that a Commission bench "misconstrued" limitations on the tribunal's powers to first establish whether workers have been dismissed before considering such matters.
A labour hire company has failed to win costs against an unrepresented worker who pursued his unfair dismissal claim through four adverse findings in the FWC and Federal Court, a judge ruling that the employer didn't help its cause by declining to provide an interpreter and by filing confusing and irrelevant material.
A casual waitress who filed an unfair sacking claim almost 50 days after her employer sent her a dismissal letter and removed her from JobKeeper does not need an extension as she was unaware of the development, the FWC has held.
