Legal page 554 of 567

The FWC's President, Justice Iain Ross, in a ruling handed down this morning, has told the Financial Services Council it should take its complaint about the constitution of the default superannuation expert panel to the Federal Court.

Undischarged bankrupts will be able to pursue the full range of unfair dismissal remedies under the Fair Work Act as long as they have been declared insolvent before lodging their claims, a Fair Work Commission full bench confirmed yesterday in a ruling that resolves conflicting single-member decisions on the issue.

A woman who was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and sentenced to more than four years in jail has been cleared to work as a teacher after a tribunal found a government department was wrong to refuse her a working-with-children check.

The Federal Court has found the balance of convenience favours reinstating a warehouse officer to his position at Peabody Energy's North Goonyella coal mine, pending the hearing of his union's claim that the company took adverse action when it dismissed him because of his Type 1 diabetes.

Australia Post acted harshly in disciplining two employees who had solid OHS reasons for refusing to work additional overtime, but was entitled to transfer their union delegate for his aggressive reaction to the sanctions, the Fair Work Commission has found.

In fining a Catholic priest more than $10,000 for dismissing an aged care nurse in breach of the Fair Work Act's general protections provisions, a court has suggested that different penalties for individuals and corporations might sometimes lead to unfair results.

ACCI says the new safety net established by modern awards in 2010 cured any gender-based pay inequities, in a submission to the Fair Work Commission full bench that is hearing a bid by three unions to win equal remuneration for child care workers.

Zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policies are back in the spotlight following the FWC's decision to reinstate a ship's master who crashed his ferry into a Sydney Harbour wharf 16 hours after smoking marijuana at home to relieve shoulder pain.

An executive must pay his former employer more than half a million dollars for fiduciary and contractual breaches, after the NSW Supreme Court upheld the reasonableness of a contract clause restraining him from working for another advertising agency for six months anywhere in Australia after his employment ended.

FWBC advisory board chair John Lloyd says he is "surprised" the ACCC does not have enough evidence to launch a prosecution against the CFMEU for taking secondary boycott action against concrete supplier Boral.