Employers have succeeded in varying an award clause a FWC full bench agrees could produce the "absurd" result of workers receiving five times the prescribed minimum rates.
A FWC full bench led by President Adam Hatcher has approved the new Coles supermarkets agreement, after according "significant weight" to the SDA representing at least 33 times more Coles employees than RAFFWU and rejecting the latter's claims that workers did not "genuinely agree" to it.
The SDA is urging the FWC to rule that labour hire clauses in a proposed Aldi agreement are invalid because they circumvent the same-job, same-pay provisions recently introduced into the Fair Work Act.
In a signal to employers that they must have systems in place to ensure they promptly provide information the FWC requires to launch a protected action ballot, the Federal Court has imposed a substantial fine on waste giant Cleanaway for a short delay in the "time-critical" process, while warning that in more egregious cases larger penalties would be warranted.
A FWC full bench has slammed a public health provider's HR team for its "inappropriate" response to queries about late payment of 'nauseous work' and education allowances for an estimated 220 employees, concluding that the delay amounted to an underpayment capable of attracting a penalty.
A construction company has failed in its bid to stop potential strikes amid claims of union interference in the protected action ballot process, the FWC pointing out that it cannot make orders preventing industrial action yet to be endorsed or notified.
In a significant judgment on the FWC's powers, a full Federal Court has today dismissed a major hospitality group's claim that a Commission bench exhibited bias when it voiced its concerns about an already-approved agreement ultimately revealed to have been voted up by three venue managers and a payroll employee not covered by it.
A FWC full bench has made a provisional ruling in favour of ensuring the lowest pay classification in modern awards is used only for a short period of induction and training, making the second lowest rate the benchmark for continuing employment.
In a decision with echoes of the CFMEU's failed opposition to a controversial non-union power industry deal that went all the way to a full Federal Court, the FWC has approved a civil construction agreement after rejecting the union's "granular" approach to explaining its terms.
The Federal Government "strongly supports" the Stage 3 pay increases of up to 13.5% determined in the aged care work value case, but wants them phased-in, with half to be paid in January next year and the remainder in January 2026.