The Fair Work Ombudsman increased its use of compliance notices by 113% in 2020-21, as it sought to quickly rectify underpayments instead of taking action in the courts, while it has nevertheless ramped up its legal action by more than 40% and set up a dedicated branch to pursue corporate misconduct.
A travelling circus has been ordered to pay $21,000 in fines and costs for failing to obtain mandatory child employment permits for three 13-year-old Chinese nationals recruited to work as acrobats.
In a significant ruling on academic free speech, the High Court has today unanimously upheld James Cook University's right to dismiss academic Peter Ridd for breaching its conduct code when he denounced its climate change research.
The insights gained from the rapid shift to working from home during COVID-19 could lead to the adoption of a "genuine consultation" requirement under the Fair Work Act's "right to request" flexibility that might start "a conversation aimed at reaching a mutually suitable arrangement", according to a new paper by two leading IR academics.
The UK Labour Party has opened its annual conference by pledging to follow the New Zealand example of introducing "Fair Pay Agreements", as part of a "New Deal" for Britain's 31 million workers.
The FWO is reminding employers other than small businesses that they have until today to assess whether their casual workers are eligible to be offered permanent employment.
An appeal court has found that international IT company Infosys had no obligation to pay long service leave to employees who claimed the entitlement after they worked for it in Australia for less than three years but up to a decade in India and elsewhere, finding they didn't meet the "continuous service" threshold under State legislation.
A court has accepted that it should impose a reduced underpayment penalty on an employer and its director because last year's extended coronavirus lockdown in Melbourne significantly reduced the size and financial resources of the business.