A Federal Court judge has questioned the "wisdom or fairness" of laws requiring employers to subtract four hours' pay for as little as 10 minutes unprotected action, after finding the AWU breached the Fair Work Act when an official asked a BlueScope manager not to dock returning strikers for starting a shift late.
The Morrison Government has introduced legislation to crack down on "sharp corporate practices" such as phoenix companies and asset-shifting by employers that are seeking to avoid paying employee entitlements.
A key independent senator says he will not support the Morrison Government's legislation to make it easier to deregister unions, introduce a public interest test for mergers and ban law-breaking officials, instead calling for a strong response to the finance scandals exposed at the Hayne Royal Commission.
IR Minister Kelly O'Dwyer will investigate employer concerns that a Federal Court decision opens the way for casual employees to make back-pay claims for billions of dollars of annual leave.
An FWC member should have drawn a software tracking company's attention to the small business fair dismissal code before ordering it to pay $70,000 to a former employee, a full bench has found.
In a decision closely examining the circumstances under which casuals satisfy minimum employment periods, the FWC has found a solicitor's admission that he didn't prepare well for a competitive hiring process contributed to leaving him one month short of being protected from unfair dismissal.
