A full Federal Court has today rejected a challenge to the Fair Work Commission's decision to reduce accident pay in the black coal award from 76 weeks to 52 weeks.
The Fair Work Commission has granted award-reliant workers a 3% increase, lifting the national minimum wage by $21.60 a week or 57 cents an hour in this year's annual wage review ruling.
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.
An FWC full bench has rejected Clubs Australia's bid to cut penalty rates for more than 100,000 workers by revoking the industry award and folding it into the hospitality award, describing the attempt as inflicting "economic harm" without any countervailing benefits.
Employers say the FWC's decision to forge ahead with model annualised wage clauses containing new record-keeping and reconciliation requirements – inserting them into some awards for the first time – will impose a "major red tape burden" while removing much of the benefit.
The FWC is seeking submissions on some increases in the work value of pharmacists identified in its four-yearly award review, but Professionals Australia has slammed the tribunal's rejection of its signal bid to bump by more than a third the pay of those with accreditation.
The FWC will no longer be required to conduct four-yearly reviews of modern awards, while being given powers to approve enterprise agreements despite minor procedural or technical errors, under long-delayed legislation passed by the Federal Parliament last night.
The IEU is seeking increases to the teachers' modern award that would lift rates by up to $23,000 a year or a flat 25%, this week telling the FWC that its work value claim on behalf of early childhood teachers cannot wait until the next four-yearly review.
A new model award term requiring employers to make a genuine attempt to reach agreement on requests for flexible work arrangements and provide detailed reasons for refusals is to come into effect on December 1.
Citing more complex demands such as data harvesting, the IEU has in addition to its bid for an equal remuneration order on behalf of 15,000 early childhood teachers now lodged an alternative work value claim to increase salary levels by between 11% and 34%, or to implement a uniform 25% pay rise.
