The FWC has declined to make orders in a rare s-xual harassment dispute decision, despite forming a preliminary view that a co-worker sent "vile" and inappropriate texts to a junior employee.
The FWC has found it highly likely that a worker's Scottish accent contributed to her "this is sh*t" comment being misheard by her supervisor as "I quit", meaning the employer lacked a valid reason for her subsequent dismissal.
In what stands as a forensic analysis of disciplinary process failings, a judge in a near-300-page judgment has found that a construction giant took adverse action against a senior manager when it sacked him for allegedly intimidating property owners while partying during the 2020 bushfire recovery effort.
A paid agent claiming to have never been told of any complaints about its services has welcomed FWC suggestions to regulate the industry while insisting the Commission should "surgically" root out "bad actors" rather than take a shotgun approach that could raise costs for workers contesting dismissals.
A full Federal Court has clarified the extent to which employers must investigate alternative roles for workers caught up in restructures, finding that a mining company had an obligation to assess whether employees could replace already-engaged contractors before making them redundant.
The Law Council has endorsed the FWC's quest for stricter regulation of paid agents, but warned it off considering the "capacity" of lawyers to act for parties in cases before the Commission.
The FWC is seeking submissions on the latest phase of its research on gender-based occupational segregation, which has been released ahead of this year's annual wage review.
ACCI has shot down union proposals that would require employers to provide delegates with iPads, phones, boosted recruitment rights and paid time off for political lobbying, accusing them of trying to use a new model awards term to outsource their own work.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth will next week hold the first meeting of a new tripartite advisory group, as her organisation prepares for the new criminal penalties regime and "safe harbour" mechanisms for employers who transgress but are willing to lift their games.