Hospitality and retail employers have detailed the substantial cuts they are seeking to penalty rates in the FWC's four-yearly modern award review, and say they will rely on expert evidence from a Deloitte economist to back their case.
FWC Vice President Adam Hatcher will head up a full bench to deal with the ACTU's wide-ranging casual and part-time employment claims, as well as proposed employer variations, after Commission president Iain Ross accepted they were "common issues" across the modern awards that the tribunal is reviewing after four years of operation.
Advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman has prompted the Fair Work Commission to set up a full bench to iron out inconsistencies between modern award provisions and the national employment standards, as part of its 4-yearly review.
A Federal Court full bench has upheld a finding that the main retail award applies to delivery drivers employed by the online arm of supermarket giant Coles.
The ACTU is seeking in the FWC's four-yearly review of modern awards to introduce an across-the-board entitlement to 10 days a year of paid family and domestic violence leave.
The ACTU will push for the Fair Work Commission's four-year modern award review to create a common clause giving more than two million casual workers the right to become permanent employees.
The Federal Circuit Court has awarded a long-distance bus driver $13,000 after rejecting his employer's argument that he was employed to work shifts rather than calendar days and therefore not entitled to a living away from home allowance.
