In a lucrative Christmas/New Year period for the Commonwealth's coffers, the Federal Circuit Court has handed down penalties amounting to more than $580,000 in eight separate cases brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman against companies and their directors for breaches of the Fair Work Act.
A Federal Court full bench has overturned a lower court's interpretation of an employment contract, finding that it had wrongly taken account of the parties' conduct after it commenced.
Giving teenage employees free and discounted pizzas and soft drink instead of wages – a practice belonging "in the dark ages rather than twenty first century Australia" – has cost a pizza franchise operator $335,000 in fines.
United Voice has asked the Fair Work Commission to order Glad Cleaning Services Pty Ltd to produce employment records for cleaners at several Melbourne CBD offices, after allegedly overhearing the company's HR manager on a mobile phone during a tram ride admitting Glad removed documents before a union inspection.
