Employers once said to be facing up to $38 billion in casuals' backpay claims have welcomed today's High Court confirmation that contracts are decisive in determining employment types, while workers' representatives have come out swinging.
The High Court has today unanimously upheld labour hire company Workpac's challenge to a finding that coal mineworker Robert Rossato was entitled to paid leave while engaged as a casual on consecutive contracts for almost four years.
The FWC has blocked a large employer's bid to move workers on to higher-paid staff roles as part of a restructure, telling the company the decision will "increase [its] cost benefits".
In a decision highlighting the challenges facing employers attempting to manage stand-downs during the pandemic, the FWC has ordered a global aviation ground services company to compensate a part-time worker after favouring more valued employees.
In a decision stressing the importance of distinguishing between internships, work experience and clerkships at law firms, a FWC senior member has rejected a recent graduate's unfair dismissal claim on the basis he was not an employee.
The UK Labour party has promised to replace the country's three existing employment classifications with a single category of "worker" for all but the "genuinely self-employed" if it takes power at the 2024 election.
The FWC has issued anti-bullying orders in a decision that highlights the workplace tensions that build from employees conducting business on their phones.
A FWC full bench has after granting the MUA permission to test the boundaries of what constitutes a "waterside worker" ultimately rejected its bid to revive an application for a majority support determination for control room operators at a liquefied gas storage facility.
Qantas says it will appeal today's Federal Court finding it breached adverse action provisions in outsourcing the remainder of its ground handling jobs while grappling with the pandemic, maintaining it was motivated "only by lawful commercial reasons".
