The FWC has ordered compensation but declined to reinstate 24 DP World wharfies sacked in 2021 for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, finding that although the dismissal process was bungled, the workers "significantly contributed" to the situation.
In a case highlighting the many tripwires involved in remote working arrangements, the FWC has upheld the sacking of a Bureau of Meteorology scientist who fell off the radar after an overseas holiday.
A FWC presidential member has stayed payment of $10,000 to an unfairly sacked worker after going beyond an employer's appeal grounds to identify potential flaws in calculation of the compensation.
A senior FWC member has questioned whether paid IR agents should be more closely regulated after expressing dismay that a firm had no processes to identify an incorrectly entered date that led to late filing of a worker's unfair dismissal claim.
The FWC has found the sudden illness and death of a worker's UK-based grandmother and immigration concerns warranted a six-day extension to lodge her unfair dismissal application.
The FWC has waved through a former company director's late unfair dismissal claim after accepting evidence that the deadline fell on the same day as her treatment for a heart condition allegedly exacerbated by her ex-husband "vengefully terminating" her employment.
The FWC has rejected an employer's argument that commissions should not be included in calculating compensation for an account manager found to have been unfairly sacked after refusing to get a COVID-19 jab.
A FWC deputy president has taken aim at a full bench's quashing of one of his decisions, saying it appears members are "expected to essentially run around in a series of ever decreasing circles" when parties change their representation status.
A senior FWC member should have considered a worker's "genuine belief" that he lodged his general protections claim on time, even though he had in fact filed a blank unfair dismissal form, a full bench has held in tackling a novel question about when an application is made.
