The Abbott Government this morning introduced a Bill in the House of Representatives to cap redundancy payments under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme at a maximum of 16 weeks, describing the current benefits for employees of insolvent companies as "overly generous" and as creating a "moral hazard".
Family First Senator Bob Day has used his first speech to parliament to press his argument for allowing job seekers to opt out of the regulated IR system if it will help them get work.
A Federal Court full bench has overturned a lower court's interpretation of an employment contract, finding that it had wrongly taken account of the parties' conduct after it commenced.
The former secretary of the HSU Vic No 3 branch, Kathy Jackson, submitted a claim for $65,740 for solicitors’ fees when the actual amount the union was charged was only $1,122, the Heydon royal commission has heard.
A Federal Court full court has agreed to stay FWBC penalty action against the CFMEU and eight officials over the Grocon blockades on the basis that the same conduct has already led to criminal proceedings, but has allowed the watchdog's unlawful coercion case to continue.
In a wide-ranging judgment on federal right of entry laws, a senior FWC member has ruled that parties need to pay more than "lip service" to the requirement to agree on meeting rooms for union discussions with workers, and has warned a CFMEU employee that he needs to take "stock of his conduct".
The Federal Court has relied on a 25-year "common understanding" in the transport industry in preference to the literal wording of an award in rejecting a TWU claim for Linfox day workers to be paid crib time.
Unions NSW has called for a code of practice on unpaid work while an advocacy body wants Australia to import the US test on whether unpaid internships are legal, in response to the NSW Government's moves to promote volunteering.
The FWO has launched a review into the hiring of overseas employees on 417 working holiday visas, including allegations that "unscrupulous operators" are exploiting the visa requirements to attract free labour.
Requiring employees to sit in a "slow moving car park queue" and travel up to two hours a day to and from a new work location does not count as reasonable alternative employment, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in a decision to award six workers redundancy pay.
