Pay and remuneration page 55 of 75

Shadow IR Minister Brendan O'Connor has questioned whether industry awards are operating as a "decent safety net" any more, signalling that Labor is looking at ways to change the Fair Work Act to ensure negotiations over workers' wages and conditions are conducted "on a level playing field".

As the FWC minimum wage panel draws closer to a determination in its annual review, a discussion paper based on surveys of more than 700,000 "lesser skilled" Americans has questioned whether policymakers need to consider mechanisms other than minimum pay rates as a means of improving health outcomes for low-paid workers.

The Federal Court has refused an application by a company to be represented by its operations manager rather than a lawyer, ruling that the manager lacked "the necessary degree of objectivity and skill" required to conduct the case.

The SDA will withdraw its claim for extra pay rises of 10% for retail and fast food workers in this year's minimum wage review, the Fair Work Commission heard today.

The FWC's minimum wage panel has asked whether any parties to its annual review want to "revise" their claims after the recent inflation spike.

An accountancy firm that knowingly failed to maintain current award rates of pay in its MYOB payroll system has been found accessorially liable for an employer's underpayments.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says low penalties are creating a "perverse incentive" for a "dangerous minority" of employers to use inaccurate or incomplete records to conceal underpayments, forcing the watchdog to use novel, labour-intensive strategies to piece together employees' working hours.

Average pay rises in private sector agreements struck in last year's December quarter returned to the recent trend of about 3% a year, according to new Department of Employment data.

Australia's major banks say they will overhaul retail employees' pay structures to reduce the importance of incentives, commissions and variable rewards.

The FWC has today rejected the United Voice proposal to adopt a medium-term minimum wage target.