UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES – AUSTRALIA

Push to throw out baseless unfair dismissal claims

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-18

Changes to the Fair Work Commission’s procedures for dealing with unfair dismissal cases are among the recommendations of a review undertaken by ex-federal small business minister Bruce Billson. Amongst other things, he has recommended earlier intervention by the FWC to reject unfair dismissal claims against small businesses that are deemed to have no merit. Meanwhile, a new report from the Institute of Public Affairs shows that the number of people employed by small businesses in Australia has fallen by seven per cent over a decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, CONCEPT WIRE INDUSTRIES

KPMG review into bungled census ‘compromised’, says whistleblower

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jun-18

Harmers Workplace Lawyers is taking legal action against KPMG and three of its senior executives on behalf of former associate director James Eldridge. KPMG has been accused of taking adverse action against Eldridge; he was dismissed as a result of complaints he made about KPMG’s review of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ IT systems following the flawed 2016 census. Eldridge is said to have told KPMG that he felt that the review was not accurate or independent. KPMG has denied his allegations, and has stated that his dismissal was for "appropriate reasons".

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HARMERS WORKPLACE LAWYERS, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

‘Show them your tits’: Fair Work upholds sacking of car manager

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 24-Jan-18

The full bench of the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an appeal by the former business manager of a Queensland car dealership. Phillip Parker had been dismissed by Cricks Volkswagen for sexual harassment after a female employee alleged that he had made inappropriate comments to her. Parker appealed against the original ruling, citing it as an example of "male inequality".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CRICKS VOLKSWAGEN

Abuse ruling faces challenge from South32

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Nov-17

South32 will appeal against the Fair Work Commission’s ruling that the sacking of a Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union official constituted unfair dismissal. South32 was ordered to reinstate Matthew Gosek after the FWC found that the offensive language which prompted Gosek’s dismissal is widely used in society. However, Macquarie Group director Patricia Cross has described the ruling as "shameful". The issue of offensive language in the workplace has also come under scrutiny in the case against Westpac over the alleged manipulation of the bank bill swap rate.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, DIVERSITY COUNCIL AUSTRALIA LIMITED

No-case sacking violates a basic freedom: Cash

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Sep-17

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says workers should not be sacked due to their views on same-sex marriage, while Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has urged employers to respect Australians’ right to freedom of expression. Capital Kids Parties’ owner Madlin Sims has caused a furore after retrenching a contractor who opposed marriage equality. The Fair Work Ombudsman would have no jurisdiction over the termination of a contractor’s employment, although lawyers say the sacking may breach anti-discrimination laws in the Australian Capital Territory.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CAPITAL KIDS PARTIES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, BRADLEY ALLEN LOVE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Dismissal actions crippling business: IPA

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 26-Jun-17

The Institute of Public Affairs claims that Australia’s unfair dismissal laws serve as a discentive for businesses to hire staff. IPA research indicates that the number of unfair dismissal claims lodged with the Fair Work Commission exceeded 18,000 in 2015-16, compared with fewer than 6,000 in 2005-06. The IPA’s Gideon Rozner says unfair dismissal claims take an unnecessarily long time to process, while FWC determinations are often contradictory. He contends that many businesses are paying complainants cash just to get them off their back.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Sacking over salesman’s ‘crude’ Facebook post unfair

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Apr-17

The Fair Work Commission has directed LED Technologies to pay compensation to a former salesman after it found that he was unfairly dismissed over a Facebook post. LED claimed that the post – which contained offensive language – was in breach of its social media policy which bans using social media at work. In his defence, the salesman had claimed that he was on a break at the time, that he was unaware of the policy, and that the post made no reference to LED.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LED TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Blind lawyer sues Maurice Blackburn

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 4-Jan-17

Lawyer Louisa Young has accused law firm Maurice Blackburn of discriminating against her because of her blindness. The documents lodged with the Federal Circuit Court allegedly show that Young was effectively demoted. Young says she was informed at a meeting in August 2016 that her duties had to be changed due to her disability. Young’s employment at Maurice Blackburn was terminated in December 2016.

CORPORATES
MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

New whistleblower protections could hit senior CFMEU officials

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-16

Former Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union organisers Andrew Quirk and Brian Miller are continuing to challenge their sacking after revealing in 2014 that the union’s New South Wales branch had links to an underworld figure. They are being represented by lawyer Chris McArdle, who argues that they would have had much greater protection if the Federal Government’s new whistleblower laws had been in place at the time of their dismissal.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SEYFARTH SHAW LLP

Rio miner bullied for working too hard

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 13-Sep-16

The Fair Work Commission has dismissed an unfair dismissal claim by an employee at Rio Tinto’s Mount Thorley coal mine in the Hunter Valley. The employee and a colleague were sacked over allegations that they had bullied another employee, while a third man was reprimanded. Their victim has claimed that they believed that he was working too hard during his shifts. Although he did not make a formal complaint about the bullying, Rio Tinto took action after the three men attempted to box in their victim’s car on a highway.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION