Labour academics analysing the Closing Loopholes No 2 Bill ahead of its expected passage into law say the right to disconnect signals a "momentous societal shift" in the value placed on work, wellbeing and private time, while gig work reforms are "world leading" but they question the narrowing of casuals' pathway to permanency.
The Albanese Government has won the passage of reforms to criminalise exploitation of workers because of their migration status, along with tougher penalties and powers to ban offending employers from hiring temporary visa holders, responding to Migrant Workers Taskforce recommendations.
A Clive Palmer-owned business must pay a worker almost $40,000 for dismissing him by email along with 125 other employees, claiming he failed to work his hours amid site-wide fraud, theft and dishonesty,, and then asking him to re-apply for his job 20 minutes later.
The Senate this afternoon passed the Closing Loopholes No 2 legislation after accepting amendments advanced by the Albanese Government, the Greens and crossbench senators David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe.
The Albanese Government has put forward a bundle of its own amendments to the Closing Loopholes legislation, including a requirement that collective agreements covering regulated employee-like gig economy workers and road transport workers meet a public interest test.
A football club's "deficient" investigation and lack of procedural fairness rendered unfair its sacking of a worker for spreading "false and degrading s-xualised rumours" in the workplace, the FWC has found.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says he now has support from a majority of senators to pass the Closing Loopholes No 2 Bill, after Independent Senator David Pocock tonight confirmed he will vote it up in return for a string of amendments.
The Greens says they have secured support from the Albanese Government and Senate crossbenchers for a legislated right for workers to disconnect from "unreasonable" out-of-hours contact from their employers.
