A veteran musician accusing Opera Australia of using the pandemic as an excuse to weed out union activists was selected for redundancy after a panel of "experienced employees" ranked him below its orchestra's two other oboe players, according to the company's Federal Circuit Court response.
In a significant, if split, decision on the FWC's jurisdictional ambit, a majority full Federal Court has ruled that the tribunal would not be invalidly exercising judicial power if it arbitrated a dispute under an agreement an employer inherited after winning a Defence Department tender.
The FWC has lambasted an employer over the "unconscionable" sacking of a casual who said he was just joking about making a workers' compensation claim after a COVID-19 related standdown, ordering compensation equal to 24 weeks of JobKeeper.
The FWC has made a rare costs order against an unfair dismissal applicant who filed her case while unsure if she had in fact quit in the heat of the moment, before discontinuing it less than 24 hours before the hearing.
A retiring presidential FWC member has used his final ruling to deliver a withering character assessment of a law graduate and question the benefit of GPs providing mental health appraisals in cases alleging bullying.
The FWC has refused to grant Westpac orders seeking that it be allowed to contest a manager's sacking without revealing to her why it dismissed her, describing the application as "unusual, if not unprecedented".
A presidential member denied an unfair dismissal applicant a fair hearing when he threw out his case for want of prosecution without a formal request from the employer, a FWC full bench has ruled.
A veteran garbo has lost his right to a $70,000 accrued personal leave payout after the NSW IRC upheld his sacking for riding on the back of a garbage truck, finding he held a cavalier attitude and lacked insight, despite expressions of regret.
A casual cook has been cleared to contest her dismissal after the FWC found she was caught between the competing interests of two workplaces in responding to the Victorian Government's single employer directive at the height of that State's COVID-19 outbreak.
The FWC has rejected a long-serving worker's portrayal of herself as a "victim" of powerful HR forces, finding her displeasure at being asked to account for money raised for a deceased colleague's family led her into serious misconduct.
