Unfair Domestic Violence Dismissal – Courts reject employer’s appeal

In a recent application for judicial review, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissed Eliana Construction and Developing Group Pty Ltd.’s application stating that they had no basis for unfairly dismissing an employee who had suffered domestic violence by her partner, who was also employed at the same company. The company’s reason for dismissing the […]

Modern Awards Update

Following the 4 yearly review of the Modern Awards by the Fair Work Commission, a number of changes have been introduced to ensure consistency around annual leave provisions. Under the updated Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2010: EFT: An employee paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT) may be paid in accordance with their usual pay […]

Crane Driver’s Artwork Cause for Fair Dismissal

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) declined a former crane driver’s application for unfair dismissal as it found that he had drawn inappropriate images on documents and shipping containers as well as displayed threatening behavior towards his superiors. An investigation was conducted by the employer into allegations that the employee had drawn a two-metre-tall male genital […]

Record fine for Sydney 7-Eleven boss

The Fair Work Ombudsman has handed down a record fine of over $200,000 to the owner of a Sydney 7-Eleven after they found he had short-changed two migrant employees and falsified records. The penalties were the largest delivered as a warning to others who may be tempted or engaging in similar conduct. In late 2015 […]

Modern Award Review Developments

The National Retail Association (NRA) has been actively involved in the Fair Work Commission’s four yearly review of Modern Awards. Of key importance to our members is our push to reduce Sunday penalty rates and our opposition to claims by the unions, primarily relating to casual conversion and to increase minimum shift entitlements. Recent developments in […]