In a case that yesterday earned a mention in Parliament, the FWC has overlooked an employer's reasons for sacking a volatile employee to find that his own evidence that he was "not right" to return to work because mental health issues justified the dismissal.
Shadow workplace relations minister Michaelia Cash has quizzed FWC general manager Murray Furlong on a "potentially serious" bullying or harassment allegation involving a tribunal member, and has questioned the ability of a former gang member to retain his entry permit while facing criminal charges.
In a landmark ruling today on franchisors' IR compliance obligations, the Federal Court has imposed a $1.44 million fine on a coffee chain for its franchisees' underpayments and record-keeping breaches.
A FWC bench has upheld a ruling that a club unfairly sacked a casual duty manager after accusing her of stealing a drink, but not before rejecting a presidential member's finding that the "theft" needed to be established "beyond reasonable doubt" and that the employer used an "intimidatory" dismissal process.
The FWC has extended time for a late unfair sacking claim after accepting that the worker held off making his application because the employer told him that he had failed to serve the minimum employment period and its external HR provider and its solicitor then reinforced it with similar advice.
The charity defending a High Court case with the potential to extend duty of care to the disciplining and sacking of workers has warned that overturning a 115-year-old precedent would "disturb the allocation of risk" in every current employment contract.
A Greens senator involved in an artificial intelligence inquiry says food delivery gig platforms provide "a real opportunity" for regulating work allocation algorithms, while employers' purpose in deploying the technology must be "interrogated".
A FWC member has permitted an anti-bullying hearing to go ahead despite her concerns that the worker and her representative misled the tribunal when they denied that the worker had accepted a job offer.