News

UPDATE:  The revised Bill received Royal Assent on 26 March 2021 meaning the changes in relation to casual employment discussed below took effect 27 March 2021. This news post has been updated as of 1 April 2021.

On 22 March, a substantially revised version of the Morrison Government’s Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 (the Bill) was passed by Parliament. A majority of the original Bill was jettisoned in the wake of strong opposition, with the final iteration retaining a sole focus on casual employment.

A car wash attendant has lost her claim for unfair dismissal after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found she had punched a male colleague in the face for reasons the FWC described as “astonishing and unacceptable”.

Continue reading “Worker Who Punched Colleague in Face Loses Unfair Dismissal Claim”

Prior to Christmas, the Morrison Government unveiled its Omnibus IR Bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (see our related article). Unions were immediately disgruntled by the proposed reform, claiming the Bill reflected “exactly what the employers wanted” whilst earlier this month, the Labor caucus was resolute in its pledge to oppose the Bill, in its entirety.

Commissioner Hunt of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has confirmed that a former personal care worker is entitled to pursue her unfair dismissal claim after her employment was deemed to have concluded when her employer placed her on indefinite unpaid leave for refusing a mandatory flu vaccination.

A Melbourne chef, who was made redundant in July 2020 when the hotel that employed her claimed the city’s second coronavirus lockdown left it with no choice but to close, has been found to have been unfairly dismissed and awarded compensation by the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has endorsed the sacking of a JobKeeper recipient, who had been employed on a casual basis, after he refused to accept any shifts over an extended period while he was in receipt of wage subsidy payments which increased his typical weekly earnings from $275 to $750.

While some of us may still be shaking off 2020, Easter falls a week earlier this year as compared to last year and is quickly approaching. As always, we remind Queensland employers that all FOUR days across the Easter weekend are designated public holidays. This is also the case in NSW, the ACT and Victoria.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has rejected a claim for unfair dismissal despite criticizing the employer’s dismissal process as “bereft of procedural fairness”.

Continue reading “Worker Who Took Off Shirt, Threw Chair and Leaf Blower Not Unfairly Dismissed Despite Deficient Process”

With Christmas fast approaching, most employers would have already noticed that Queensland will observe an additional public holiday for Boxing Day this year. With 26 December falling on a Saturday, the Holidays Act 1983 – which governs the setting of public holidays in Queensland – specifies that an additional public holiday will be observed for Boxing Day on Monday, 28 December 2020. This means, in Queensland, BOTH dates of 26 December 2020 and 28 December 2020 will be recognised public holidays for Boxing Day. The typical benefits of public holidays subsequently apply to BOTH dates, not one date or the other.