A dispute between Macquarie Bank and 15 former employees who allege they were underpaid more than $2.6 million looks destined for a full hearing after the Federal Circuit Court rebuffed the parties' request for mediation by a judge.
The Federal Court will this afternoon hear an RTBU bid for an interim injunction to reinstate a delegate it says has been unlawfully sacked by the private operator of Sydney's newest rail line because he helped it to prepare for a majority support determination application.
A Tasmanian wood mill operator that stood down its workforce after this year's bushfires has established that even though its agreement requires workers to be paid for time lost due to such natural events, it does not have to pay them if it is because of bushfire-damaged machinery.
An experienced Qantas flight attendant who surreptitiously downed a quarter of a bottle of vodka on an 11-hour flight has failed to overturn her dismissal, with the FWC agreeing with the airline that she breached critical safety standards before trying to lie her way out of trouble.
Employers should pay close attention to their "extended workforce" before being forced to do so by increased regulation and public scrutiny, according to former Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James.
A large pharmaceutical company is obliged to convert labour hire workers to permanent positions after a year's continuous employment, the FWC ruling that the relevant agreement clause was a permitted matter because it promoted job security.
A CFMMEU official has retained his entry permit despite being heavily fined for his part in a heated worksite stoush, the FWC finding he was acting on "genuine but mistaken" legal advice about his rights.
FWC President Iain Ross's delegate has refused to refer to the Federal Court IR Minister Kelly O'Dwyer's "revolutionary" question of law as to whether the Fair Work Act allows indirectly discriminatory terms in agreements, while also flagging potential hurdles to her quest for a review of a new fire brigade deal.
After winning an interlocutory injunction reversing her suspension from Melbourne University, the head of its culture and communication school is challenging her employer's claim that legal advice received before appointing an investigator to probe possible misconduct is privileged.
A small employer must pay almost $15,000 to a former part-time worker it sacked for rejecting an "inflexible" full-time job proposal the FWC concluded had been designed to "get rid" of her.
