Deliberately underpaying workers will be a criminal offence, punishable by fines of up to three times the amount of underpayments, under laws being introduced to Parliament today.
Labor's imminent industrial relations changes, which include a first-ever "definition of what an employee is", represent a union "wish list" rather than addressing legitimate loopholes, employer groups say.
An employer had "no case to answer" regarding an employee's alleged work-from-home rights, but whether she was bullied after requesting flexibility remains to be determined, the Federal Circuit Court has ruled.
Despite "enthusiastic speculation" about flexible work agreements being the "future" of employment, their long-term feasibility is still unknown, and they are not yet an "inalienable" right, a commissioner has said in upholding the rejection of an employee's request.
An employee's "openly derisive" claim that her employer, in rejecting her flexible work request, confused its operational needs with its inability to manage its own workforce, was a "slap in the face", a commission has chastised.
Ahead of the Federal Government's next tranche of industrial relations legislation, an employer group has spoken out about the risk of redefining what constitutes a 'casual employee'.
General protections claims are the fastest-growing category of applications in the Fair Work Commission, with reforms now underway to stem the tide. This webinar will discuss important developments in both procedural issues and case law.
