The FWC has described a kennel hand's dismissal as so unfair "even the dogs in the street know" it, putting the labradoodle breeders on notice to take better care of their puppies than they do of the humans they employ.
The ripples from a recent decision upsetting the authority on outer limits contract workers pursuing unfair dismissal claims have reached another jurisdiction, with the WA IR Commission ordering the reinstatement of a septuagenarian school traffic warden who had been "taken advantage" of by the employer.
A large employer's failure to tell an employee what claims were being investigated before conducting a recorded interview was among a number of flaws identified by the FWC in a procedurally "infected" dismissal.
A multinational company bungled what could otherwise have been a fairly straightforward dismissal of a detention officer who slept on the job, the FWC finding that "blindsiding" her with photographic evidence at the second of two meetings denied the otherwise exemplary employee procedural fairness.
A company providing first aid services at major events has been fined $250,000 for underpaying casuals after a medical certificate attesting its sole director was "unfit for work/school" over a five-day period that included the court hearing failed to secure an adjournment.
In a ruling as to what constitutes "physical effort", a court has found that opening or removing curtains and straps securing a truck's load did not qualify a driver for an extra allowance under a transport industry award.
Aerocare's attempt to revive its appeal against the rejection of a new agreement has fallen short, after an FWC full bench rejected the aviation services company's "misconceived" offer to improve conditions for casuals.
Workers on "outer limits" fixed-term contracts and long-term casuals have been given more latitude to pursue unfair dismissal claims after an FWC full bench decision that brings the accepted precedent on employer-initiated terminations into line with Fair Work Act provisions.
The FWC has rejected an IR practitioner's bid to shift from casual to continuing employment, finding that even if he was eligible, his employer's agreement provided no implicit "right" to convert.
In a landmark judgment upholding a casual employee's right to convert to permanency on a "like for like" basis, the Federal Court has concluded it should fine Toll more than $40,000 and order it to compensate a freight handler for refusing to grant his request for full-time employment from May last year.
