New data from the FWC has confirmed the workplace upheaval being wrought by COVID-19, with a leap in unfair dismissal applications, stand-down disputes and agreement variations in pursuit of a wage freeze or deferral.
An FWC full bench has today rejected a "misconceived' bid by construction employers to "level the playing field" by extending JobKeeper award flexibilities to ineligible companies in the sector, but has left the door open for changes due to the new Level 4 restrictions implemented in response to Victoria's second coronavirus wave.
In an instructive decision on when employers should communicate major job-cutting proposals to workers, the FWC has endorsed Deakin University's timing but told it to engage at an institution-wide level after finding its 15-area carve-up left "no opportunity" for meaningful consultation.
Talks brokered by the FWC last night have led the parties to a COVID-19 dispute agreeing to "fully support" the findings from an industrial site visit by an occupational physician this morning.
An employer that made a worker redundant just days before the unveiling of JobKeeper must pay the remaining sum she would have gained as a recipient, after the FWC found a proper consultation process would have resulted in her getting it.
Despite lacking power to deal with a dispute over a casual worker's removal from JobKeeper for refusing an extra shift, the FWC has recommended his employer reinstate the payment or face a potential general protections claim.
An FWC full bench has in the face of employer opposition decided to grant paid pandemic leave for aged care workers covered by the aged care, nurses and health professionals awards for a three-month period from tomorrow.
An FWC full bench proposing to grant paid pandemic leave for workers covered by the Aged Care Award is seeking submissions by 2pm today on whether to also insert it into the Nurses Award and Health Professionals and Support Services Award.
The FWC has commended the AFAP and a special mission aviation employer for their approach in resolving a COVID-19 related dispute over the relocation of FIFO pilots on Border Force surveillance contracts.
An FWC full bench has accepted Prosegur's pared-back JobKeeper-enabling directions, which reduce the minimum fortnightly hours of full-time armoured vehicle operators to 60, while it has provided separate assurances for part-timers and casuals.
