News

In two recent decisions concerning a Queensland childcare worker and a receptionist in a New South Wales aged care facility, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has upheld the dismissals of both workers for refusing to receive a mandatory flu vaccination during 2020, despite their separate claims they would have experienced an adverse reaction to the jab.

Deputy President Asbury of the Fair Work Commission has ordered reinstatement for the Branch Manager of a Queensland bank who was duped into transferring $37,500 into a fraudster’s account during the frenzied early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Deputy President having found in January, on balance, that dismissal had not been a valid response to the Branch Manager’s conduct. The employee was also awarded in excess of $50,000 compensation for lost earnings whilst her continuity of service will be retained.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found a teenage swim instructor who recommended a rival swim school on a community Facebook page engaged in “foolish, naïve and ill-judged” behaviour but could not be persuaded that her conduct was so destructive to the employment relationship that it warranted summary dismissal.   

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.