An FWC full bench has asked the Morrison Government whether it will boost funding to compensate employers if it grants a contested $5-an-hour COVID-19 allowance claim for disability workers attending to self-isolated and quarantining clients.
RAFFWU is moving quickly to object to expedited employer-proposed, ACTU-supported COVID-19 variations to the Fast Food Award, applying to businesses not qualifying for the JobKeeper scheme and workers who fall through the cracks.
The FWC will consider an ACTU push for frontline health workers to have access to paid leave on multiple occasions if they are required to self-isolate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described his government's close consultation with the Opposition in drafting legislation to give effect to the JobKeeper coronavirus wage subsidy program that will be put to Parliament next week, while joining IR Minister Christian Porter in thanking unions for their cooperation in achieving "massive" temporary IR changes.
The FWC has expedited the hearing of the restaurant industry's bid to vary its award to boost hours and leave flexibility as it shifts to a COVID-19 business model based on takeaways and home delivery.
Restaurant employers have applied to the FWC to vary the industry award to provide more flexibility to deal with the coronavirus virus, following on from similar cases involving clerical and hotels awards.
New rules for recording the working hours of junior lawyers and paralegals are set to take effect from March, despite protests from major law firms, while up to a million clerical employees are set to be subject to similar provisions.
An FWC full bench has rejected a bid to reduce hairdressers' penalty rates for weekend and public holidays, while seeking further submissions on whether weekend rates should be paid in addition to casual loading.
In a clear indication that the recent rash of underpayment disclosures by large companies has not gone unnoticed, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told a business audience that his government hopes to reduce the current compliance regime's "administrative clutter".
A NSW IRC full bench has in making equal remuneration orders delivering a 11% rise for education support workers called on governments to ensure worthy such cases are argued, rather than rely on unions "funded by a declining member base".
