The FWC has published a JobKeeper disputes benchbook as it clocks 120 applications to deal with disputes under the scheme, while a union-run 'Jobscammer' website recorded more than 250 responses in its first week.
In what stands as a tribute to the qualities the FWC looks for in employers' legal representatives, an experienced tribunal member has praised a senior associate for "a masterclass in the art of advocacy" that avoided bamboozling or belittling an unrepresented bus driver.
An FWC majority finding that an Uber delivery driver could not bring an unfair dismissal claim as she was an independent contractor highlights a need for legislative intervention to recognise that many gig workers are employees, says a leading employment law academic.
A full bench has again affirmed the FWC's ability to use undertakings to overcome concerns about how deals are explained ahead of a vote, rejecting a CFMMEU challenge to the redetermination of a controversial power industry deal.
The FWC has refused to hear the out-of-time unlawful termination case of a teacher allegedly "forced" into taking maternity leave, finding her confusion over the dismissal date, a delay caused by filing the wrong claim and a difficult birth did not amount to exceptional circumstances.
A senior FWC member has cited the ubiquity of "incomplete [or] incorrect" applications received by the tribunal in rejecting a regulatory body's $36,000 costs bid against a former employee who mistakenly claimed discrimination on the basis of s-x.
The Ai Group is calling for urgent legislation to enable awards to keep pace with "contemporary work practices", after an FWC full bench rejected a joint bid to boost overtime provisions for lower-level IT professionals while preserving flexibilities.
The FWC has rejected a major utility's attempt to introduce a zero blood-alcohol regime for its 2500-strong workforce, calling out management for a "selective" policy review and failing to alert unions that it would treat first breaches as serious misconduct instead of issuing a warning.
Academics have questioned a "curious" FWC full bench majority finding that a delivery driver worked for Uber and not for herself or any restaurant, but was not an employee of the gig economy giant.
For the second time in a fortnight, a senior FWC member's approval of an enterprise agreement has been quashed over a failure to explain why they rejected union concerns.
