Workplace policy page 22 of 80

Former Labor Senator Kristina Keneally's decision to summarily sack a staffer via email without hearing from him after he confronted a Coalition MP with claims of coercive control unfairly denied him a chance to argue an "active bystander" defence, the FWC has held.

In a general protections ruling, a court has awarded $160,000 in compensation and damages to a stonemason dismissed because of his work-related silicosis.

WA's parliamentary inquiry into sexual harassment of female workers in the FIFO mining sector has recommended that the industry ensure there are "serious repercussions" for perpetrators, keep a blacklist of perpetrators to stop them simply moving to other sites and rebalance the proportion of direct and indirect hires to reduce risks.

An employer must pay $2.8 million, including more than $1.7 million for pain, suffering and economic loss, to a long-serving manager who had her life "effectively destroyed" by a new chief executive.

A FWC full bench has thrown out a Qantas bid to overturn the reinstatement of a trainer accused of staring at a flight attendant's breasts and gazing into her eyes in a "distinguishably lewd" manner during a safety demonstration.

An office-based stevedore who said he smoked cannabis daily while on leave due in part to the stress of agreement negotiations and COVID-19 lockdowns has failed to establish he was unfairly sacked for "out of hours conduct" after testing positive to THC at work.

Many workers would forgo a pay rise of up to 10% to secure more say in where and when they work, according to a study that says the Fair Work Act is failing to keep up with flexible practices, while other research says WFH employees save an average of $10,000 a year.

The FWC has upheld the sacking of a multinational business's sales representative who ignored repeated warnings that she had crossed the chief executive's "line in the sand" over speeding in company cars.

The FWC has observed that a Victorian worker's application to work full-time from home under flexible work arrangements was largely motivated by her opposition to COVID-19 vaccinations, in upholding her employer's refusal of her request.

A paid bargaining agent has failed to force Coles to give him a seat at the bargaining table with the UWU, after the FWC rejected his bid for a bargaining order, finding the Act doesn't require a single bargaining unit and that the supermarket giant provided "clear and sensible" reasons for separate negotiations.