In a significant ruling on the standing of independent contractors, a full Federal Court has upheld an appeal by two truck drivers pursuing unpaid leave and superannuation entitlements after working exclusively for a multinational company for almost 40 years.
The AAT has overruled the Attorney-General's Department's refusal to make a FEG redundancy payment to a worker who claims she stayed on at the administrator's request to help with winding-down a failed company, but then had her retrenchment payout denied when employee numbers fell from 60 to below the eligibility threshold of 15.
An FWC full bench has adjourned the union application to introduce a paid pandemic leave entitlememt for award-covered health and community workers required to self-isolate during the coronavirus crisis.
In a significant judgment examining the interplay between employment relationships and employment contracts, the Federal Court has dismissed a major employer's appeal against a ruling it owed a cleaner redundancy pay after reducing her hours from full to part-time.
Labour hire company Workpac has sought special leave to appeal to the High Court last month's momentous Rossato decision paving the way for casuals to claim leave entitlements, a ruling employers now estimate could expose them to more than $14 billion in back-pay.
The Morrison Government has flagged potential legislative change as the full Federal Court's Rossato ruling sends "shockwaves" among employers, while an academic says it is untenable for casuals to receive both loading and leave entitlements.
Unions are calling on Qantas to permit sick workers to continue accessing paid personal leave entitlements while stood down due to the coronavirus, despite the Federal Court ruling today that it is not obliged to do so.
The Morrison Government has won support for a parliamentary inquiry into class actions, despite the Labor Opposition accusing it of dodging recommendations from a 17-month-old report by the Australian Law Reform Commission.
A court has given a publicly-listed veterinary pharmaceutical company the go-ahead to pursue its former chief executive for a significant portion of more than US$400,000 paid to settle assault and s-x discrimination cases brought by two members of its marketing team.
