A FWO bid to piggyback a compliance notice breach case with underpayment orders has been upended by a court, which observed that merging the two pathways would "undermine" the Fair Work Act's integrity.
The FWO is prosecuting franchisor Bakers Delight for failing to prevent its franchisees from underpaying workers, after the head office discovered the wage theft and failed to address it.
The Federal Court has today reversed a judge's finding that a CFMMEU organiser directed a "disgusting" homophobic slur towards a construction project's safety advisor, while it also axed a personal payment order against him.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker has confirmed that she will not seek reappointment when her term expires in July, with DEWR now advertising for her replacement.
A dumpling chain's HR manager was knowingly concerned in its Fair Work Act contraventions and "did not simply act as a conduit", the Federal Court has held in a liability judgment, finding she also instructed and trained a colleague in a payroll scam using both accurate and inaccurate records.
A judge has blasted a company's request for no penalty for flouting IR laws, describing it as "one of the most extraordinary submissions, if not the most extraordinary submission" on fines he had heard in more than 15 years.
In the wake of the Albanese Government's recent appointment of a new FWC president, it has a further opportunity to reshape Fair Work institutions with the looming expiry of Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker's five-year term.
