Case law page 8 of 40

The FWC has found that a HR manager who quit after her employer changed her responsibilities was not forced to resign, noting that although she had to report to a different manager, "a change in a reporting line does not constitute constructive dismissal".

Australian workplace laws have a "legislative preference" for registered unions to act as a "specific vehicle" for workers seeking to enforce their rights under industrial instruments, the Federal Court has heard.

In returning a worker to her job and restoring most of her lost pay, finding the policy the worker breached "might make sense to copyright lawyers and some IT specialists, but probably no one else" the FWC has cautioned that "employer policy documents and manuals must be accessible, understandable and reasonable in their terms".

In considering the case of a worker sacked for failing to tell his employer about his licence suspension and then lying about it, a NSW IRC member has found that his length of service "'cuts both ways' – the longer an employee’s period of service, the more they can be expected to be aware of the conduct expected of them by their employer".

A Jetstar maintenance supervisor who referred to colleagues as "dumb c-nts" and tried to destroy the credibility of a complaining subordinate by revealing he was overtly flatulent and openly rubbed his p-nis at work has failed to establish that his sacking involved double standards or unfairness.

Some Australian universities have engaged in "passive resistance" when questioned over employee underpayments and record-keeping, according to Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker.

As Telstra next week prepares to defend a Federal Court class action on behalf of employees who refused to comply with its COVID-19 vaccination policy, the FWC has held that it met consultation requirements and "bent over backwards" to ensure fairness before sacking a worker with a moral objection to being jabbed.

A FWC full bench has dismissed an "unusual" unfair dismissal jurisdictional appeal, finding that a worker who took a pay cut due to his employer's financial struggles fell below the high income cap despite the company arguing that the Commission's compensation order proved his pay exceeded the threshold.

An employer must pay more than $50,000 to compensate a supervisor it victimised by forcing her to take leave and change roles after she complained that a male colleague sexually-harassed her when he stared at her breasts.

The Federal Court will consider whether to fine BHP Coal and order compensation after finding it took unlawful adverse action by excluding a Workpac labour hire worker because he exercised his workplace rights, including by complaining about allegedly unsafe practices.