Australia's first labour hire licensing regime comes into effect in Queensland today with legislators attempting to meet industry concerns about its wide cast by tackling the thorny issue of who is and who isn't caught in its scope.
A geoscientist made redundant after almost two decades with the same company has been given a second chance to argue he was unfairly dismissed after a full bench found his former employer potentially led a Commission member into error when asserting there were no alternative positions available.
A senior FWC member has refused to stay a former Sydney Trains employee's stop bullying application while he pursues reinstatement through the courts, observing that mud would "stick" to his accused ex-colleagues as long as the matter went unresolved.
The WA branch of the TWU has failed to strike out a former organiser's adverse action claim in which she alleges the union sacked her six months into her employment for taking sick leave and personal carer's leave to look after her elderly father.
In an FWC case heavily reliant on circumstantial evidence, a former soldier with an unblemished work record has had his dismissal for stealing company property upheld after the tribunal heard of airport mix-ups on a remote island, alleged union skullduggery, an upset stomach – and a dead bat.
A full Federal Court has overturned a workplace safety finding that permit-holding union officials were rightly denied site access for neglecting to include their middle names on an entry notice, reinforcing that flawless paperwork comes a distant second to protection of workers.
The FWC has upheld under the small business code the summary dismissal of a manager accused of blackmailing his employer into paying an $85,000 separation package in return for him abandoning a proposed complaint to OHS authorities.
A court has thrown out an aggrieved former employee's bullying case, finding he could not substantiate claims of a "complex conspiracy" that involved a flatulent supervisor.
The FWC has ruled that a public health organisation's $270,000-a-year former CFO is not entitled to pursue an unfair dismissal claim because he is not covered by an agreement.
