Casual, contract & contingent work (380 items)

Undertaking "preparatory steps" to establish a competing business while still employed will rarely be considered a breach of fiduciary and contractual obligations, a full bench of the Fair Work Commission has highlighted, in refusing an employer's unfair dismissal appeal.

Premium news wrap: decision up-ends annualised salary assumptions; 'inactive' casual was unfairly dismissed; when boundaries border on belligerence; and more.

When an employer told a casual employee that it wanted to "take a pause" on their working relationship, it effectively dismissed him, a full bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

A casual employee whose engagements were described as "ad hoc and sporadic" had unfair dismissal protection and was sacked without a valid reason, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

The Fair Work Commission has rejected arguments that it wasn't appropriate or fair to make 'same job, same pay' orders for more than 2,000 workers, in a major ruling on the provisions that will add about $66 million to the affected employers' wages bills.

The 'same job, same pay' test case ruling handed down by a full bench of the Fair Work Commission suggests the provisions extend beyond their intended scope, according to industry leaders.

Safety regulators are taking an increasingly active approach to policing employers' management of psychosocial hazards, risk specialists say.

It's never been more important to reduce risks and inefficiencies in contingent workforce management, but the path to a streamlined, integrated approach isn't often a smooth one, experts warn.

Some risk is unavoidable when engaging contingent workers, but certain steps can go a long way towards preventing regulator scrutiny and entitlement claims, a lawyer says.

A casual worker has won compensation for unfair dismissal, with the Fair Work Commission noting that, given her years of loyal service, "she deserved better than an immediate dismissal communicated through a coworker".