A mining equipment manufacturer that admitted to wrongly sacking a warehouse worker for failing to comply with a government COVID-19 vaccine mandate that did not apply to her must pay more than $33,000 compensation, after the FWC slashed her payout by half.
The FWC has reinstated a senior Virgin flight attendant accused of tardiness, stealing snacks, sleeping and watching a movie while on duty, finding pandemic-driven loads on HR delayed the airline's investigation and contributed to procedural fairness deficiencies.
In a decision that shines a light on road service provider NRMA's business model, the FWC has found a contractor mechanic's failure to meet KPIs – when he spent too much time with customers and failed to sell enough batteries – did not provide a fair basis for sacking him.
In a decision reinstating a Regional Express pilot who missed a COVID-19 vaccination deadline, the FWC has expressed sympathy for the airline's "beleaguered HR staff", despite finding the sacking procedurally flawed.
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.
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.
A FWC member has sought to emphasise that jabs are a matter of choice for employees, rather than a "mandate" imposed by employers, as a tide of COVID-19 vaccination-related unfair dismissal cases work their way through the tribunal.
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.
The FWC in upholding the sacking of an unvaccinated KFC worker has found it "regrettable" HR sent auto-generated letters that led her to believe she was dismissed for abandoning her job.
