In an important ruling on the rights of employers to monitor and enforce their IT usage policies, the Federal Court has upheld the sacking of a senior public sector executive for viewing pornography on a work laptop while at home.
The question of what constitutes exceptional circumstances to warrant accepting a late unfair dismissal or general protections claim remains unsettled, with the issue yesterday dividing a full bench.
Collective agreement coverage increased significantly while the proportion of workers under awards and individual agreements declined in the two years to mid-2010, according to new ABS data, while IR academic David Peetz has renewed his call for the Bureau to start collecting separate information on non-union agreements, due to their rising importance after the demise of AWAs.
In the wake of the debate over Christmas/New Year public holidays, the Federal Court has this week rejected an SDA bid to establish that when ANZAC Day falls on a Sunday, an additional public holiday is created on the following day for Woolworths employees in South Australia.
A worker sacked for using his mobile phone while driving a fuel tanker engaged in "gross and wilful" misconduct that endangered the public and could have had "disastrous" consequences, Fair Work Australia has found.
FWA has upheld Linfox’s summary dismissal of a long-haul truck driver for falsifying a daily worksheet that indicated when he was too fatigued to continue working.
Australian employers are increasingly adopting aspects of US-style bargaining, including thoroughly costing union claims, according to three Melbourne-based senior employer-clientele lawyers who have recently returned from their second annual IR study trip to North America.
In an important ruling, a Federal Court full bench has upheld a finding that Queensland Rail entities were obliged under their enterprise agreements to consult their employees about changes to employment arrangements that would flow from privatisation, but has substantially reduced the penalties they must pay.
Parramatta Leagues Club's sacking of its former chief financial officer for issuing an unauthorised $39,000 cheque just after a board change that resulted in the mid-season dumping of long-serving CEO Denis Fitzgerald was not unfair, Fair Work Australia has ruled.
