Reducing a casual employee's shifts amounted to a dismissal, and denying her an opportunity to respond to the decision rendered it harsh, unjust and unreasonable, the Fair Work Commission has found.
What defines a contingent worker remains "as clear as mud", according to a lawyer, who says employers must nonetheless step up their compliance efforts in line with increasing regulator activity.
An employer unfairly dismissed a casual employee when it informed her by text message that further shifts were "on hold" shortly after she announced she was pregnant, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in ordering her reinstatement.
Disputes so far about the application of fixed-term contract limits haven't yet resolved all the grey areas in the legislation, a workplace lawyer says.
The importance of complying with a direction didn't justify the "obstinate rejection" of an employee's explanations for not doing so, the Fair Work Commission has found in ordering her reinstatement.
A labour hire worker has been blocked from pursuing a general protections claim against two purported employers, with the Fair Work Commission accepting that neither terminated his employment.
Costly legal disputes continue to highlight the many risks employers face when managing, disciplining, or dismissing employees while they are absent, injured or incapacitated. Attend this webinar for an up-to-date review of the legal framework applying to workplace absenteeism, injury and incapacity, and lessons from recent case law.
