Two franchisee directors of a Chatime bubble tea store have had most of their underpayment penalties suspended after a court accepted they acted on their franchisor's advice that they could pay age-based flat rates.
If the FWC incorporates loaded rates in hospitality and retail awards after a referral from IR Minister Christian Porter, it is likely to involve a range of such rates rather than a single one, the tribunal's president indicated in a statement today.
BHP Billiton is sounding out employees in its fast-growing in-house labour hire operation on "simple, safety net" agreements that include a guarantee to pay 5% more than the award to full-time and part-time employees.
FWC President Iain Ross has agreed to consider IR Minister Christian Porter's request that he insert loaded rates into awards for "distressed" industries and will convene initial conferences next week.
A court has revived a former national swim coach's underpayment claims, granting him leave to challenge a finding that an award did not cover his role.
The National Library of Australia has avoided becoming the second federal public body forced to make a "contrition payment" to the FWO, after admitting to underpaying casual employees almost $250,000 over two decades.
The FWC has used the further extension of COVID-19-related flexibilities in the clerks award to advance its campaign for enduring changes in working-from-home arrangements, calling on employers and unions to report back on possible variations to address the issue by early next month.
Qantas is considering a challenge to a Federal Court interpretation today of JobKeeper payment rules that will require it to backpay employees who received penalty rates in arrears while covered by the wage subsidy scheme.
