A higher education peak body says an order for a university to reinstate a lecturer who failed to meet a requirement to have research published in a top journal, but achieved other benchmarks, "wrongly downplays" a need for academic staff to meet reasonable performance objectives.
The former talent manager of a peak employer body is suing a children and family services provider, claiming it breached adverse action and consumer laws by sacking her soon after she was recruited to "get rid of some people".
A Federal Court full court majority has given a broad meaning to a section in the Fair Work Act's general protections that says employees must be "able to complain" to establish a breach of their workplace rights.
A tribunal member has rounded on an employer for its "reprehensible" response to being found to have unfairly dismissed a worker, describing as "wage theft" its tardy provision of backpay.
A former Melbourne Water advisor is accusing the utility of forcing him to take domestic violence leave and failing to provide a promised permanent job after he disclosed that he was experiencing family violence.
The FWC has held that a service station operator "set about" dismissing a worker after she filed a compensation claim, unfairly sacking her over her pink hair, s-xual objectification of a male customer and derogatory comments, despite having some valid reasons.
The FWC has taken a disability care provider to task over the process followed in dismissing one of its workers, finding she was "summonsed" by its HR manager "to participate in an ambush of her employment".
The FWC has awarded more than $2000 compensation to a roadside supervisor dismissed after he inserted a metal bar down the rear of a co-worker's pants and directed crew members to collect refundable cans and bottles so he could give the money to his daughter.
In a case highlighting the dangers of failing to engage with underpayments cases, an employer who did not respond to a claim it short-changed a teenage worker by $8000 must now pay him an additional $240,000 in penalties.
The FWC has found an employer's failure to consult a pregnant worker before abruptly announcing her redundancy to be the "very definition of unfair", rejecting its submissions that a series of meetings were adequate.
