In a further warning on the importance of accurate payroll systems, the Australian Red Cross Society has become the latest surprising addition to the list of underpaying employers to have entered enforceable undertakings with the FWO after the charity self-reported short-changing employees a figure now estimated to top $25 million.
A FWC full bench's insertion of a minimum wage guarantee in the horticulture award to ensure pieceworkers earn at least $25.41 an hour is "one of the most significant industrial decisions of modern times", according to the AWU.
A court has thrown out an FWO underpayment case on behalf of four delivery drivers it argued were employees rather than independent contractors, the judge narrowly finding that all parties intended to operate at arm's length when originally formalising their relationship.
In a ruling reinforcing the wisdom of heeding FWO compliance notices, an online directory and its director have despite pleas they would be "crippled" been fined more than $18,000 for failing to rectify underpayments on time.
The FWC's minimum wage panel has revealed that it is developing a consumer price index for low paid households and a budget of discretionary items required to participate in society, while one of its members says the pandemic will make that already difficult task even more complex.
A FWC full bench has held early childhood teachers should receive a pay rise of up to 13.6% from the start of next year as part of an IEU work value claim, after the union reached a consent position with some employers and others failed to back up affordability concerns.
In a decision further clarifying when clients can be legally represented in workplace matters, a Queensland IRC member has confirmed he has no power to involve lawyers in underpayment cases.
The AAT has found a real estate agent eligible for FEG payments reflecting the balance of sales commissions even though they became payable on the post-administration settlement of properties, quashing an Attorney-General's Department decision to the contrary.
Qantas has struck enterprise agreements covering about 450 regional pilots at Sunstate and Eastern, the first to be negotiated since it announced a two-year wage freeze in May as part of its COVID-19 recovery plan.
