Workplace policy page 36 of 80

In a significant ruling on academic free speech, a university lecturer has been given a second chance to challenge his sacking for superimposing a swastika on an Israeli flag after a full Federal Court found insufficient weight had been attached to an agreement's 'intellectual freedom' clause.

The Federal Court has for the second time this month found that government-owned Airservices Australia failed to meet agreement obligations to consult over changes affecting air traffic controllers, despite its "valiant" attempt to distinguish between 'policies' and 'procedures'.

Unions and employers are embracing the use of rapid antigen testing as it ramps up in some industries, but questions remain around cost, access, administration and how it should fit with other measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at work.

Qantas has today reported a massive coronavirus-driven net loss of about $1.7 billion for the 2020-21 financial year and has revealed it has now cut 9400 jobs - some 900 more than expected.

The CPSU has stepped up its criticism of the Morrison Government's public sector wages policy, saying it demands that workers sign up to "unknown" pay rises beyond the first year of new enterprise deals.

Resources giant BHP has told a WA parliamentary inquiry that it has terminated six employees for sexual assault and 48 for sexual harassment in its mining operations across the State over the past two years, while Rio Tinto has substantiated one sexual assault and 29 sexual harassment cases in its WA FIFO operations since the start of last year.

The Morrison Government has refused to budge on employer calls to indemnify businesses that encourage workplace vaccinations and to provide federal support for those who mandate inoculations, while AMMA has warned of the looming "elephant in the room".

The Qantas Group will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after receiving encouragement from a survey sent to 22,000 employees.

The ABC is updating its employment contracts to make it clear that breaches of its personal use of social media guidelines might lead to directions to delete content or termination of employment.

Former Australian Law Council president, barrister Arthur Moses SC, has attempted to offer employers some clarity on whether they can mandate worker vaccinations by highlighting a recent FWC case he describes as "highly instructive" when considering how to approach what he concedes is a difficult question.