The CFMMEU has told the High Court that applying the multifactorial test to determine if a worker is an employee or independent contractor is a "vacuous" approach without ultimately establishing whether they are conducting their own business.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is seeking advice on whether to delegate some of the responsibilities of IR Minister and Attorney-General Christian Porter while he is suing the ABC for defamation in the Federal Court, according to political sources.
The Morrison Government's contentious Omnibus IR Bill has moved to the Senate after a day of increasingly splenetic exchanges between Coalition and ALP members, one independent describing the legislation as a "pathetic" example of supposed compromise.
Unions say Uber's failure to convince the UK's Supreme Court that its drivers are independent contractors or that their working time only includes periods carrying passengers is set to be "very persuasive" in the Australian context.
Observing that "you can only 'lead a horse to water' so many times", the FWC has after nearly a year dismissed what it described as a former university employee's largely incompetent unlawful dismissal claim.
Just as the Morrison Government's Omnibus IR Bill says a casual will be defined on the basis of their job offer, rather than subsequent conduct, the labour hire company at the centre of a landmark casuals case has told the High Court employment contracts must be decisive.
Uber Eats says a new delivery partner contract is part of a dramatic restructure under which it is simplifying by selling its services directly to "eaters", but a leading IR academic says it has been forced into a tactical retreat after recent court proceedings went "terribly".
The FWC has let a construction company bin a 5% pay rise that came into effect in February plus next year's increase, despite CFMMEU evidence that some workers felt pressured to support the COVID-19 variation in a ballot that identified their vote.