TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – misconduct – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – Full bench quashed Decision and Order at first instance and referred matter back to Commission for determination [[2017] FWCFB 1929] – employee dismissed due to series of safety breaches – Commission not satisfied that safety breaches individually or collectively justified termination – employer failed to establish valid reason for dismissal – found termination unfair – appropriate remedy undecided – parties to file submissions on remedy. Palmer v USG Boral Building Products P/L
February 12, 2018
A very short queue of sixteen applicants is lined up today before the Fair Work Commission to have the efficacy of their unfair dismissal/labour dispute claims reviewed. The list is: Estia Investments Pty Ltd (Percy), Sydney Trains (Kolevski), Chalmers Industrial Pty Ltd (Talevski), The O Kelly Group (Wharram), KDR Victoria Pty Ltd (Thomas), Transport Workers’ Union of Australia – Victorian/Tasmanian Branch (McCrone), Department of Education and Training (De Silva), Aboriginal Family Legal Service Southern Queensland Indigenous Corporation (Nze-Bertram), Bunnings Group Limited (Dawson), GoingUp Lifts (NSW) Pty Ltd (Inns), Illiad Pty Ltd (Sparrowhawk), Strikeforce Cleaning Services (Caldwell), DHT Trading Pty Ltd (Davis), Seit Outback Australia Pty Ltd (Ackers), Smash Tek Pty Ltd, Vecchiotti Nominees Pty Ltd (Georgiadis), Samars Structural Engineers (Williams).
February 12, 2018
ACT Corrective Services will have to deal with a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) before Fair Work Deputy President Kovacic in Conference Room 2 in Canberra at 10am.
February 9, 2018
Twenty one applications involving labour disputes will be heard in the Fair Work Commission today. The list is: Shorelands Pastoral Company Pty Ltd (Beckett), Asahi Beverages Pty Ltd (Foster-Owens), Patrick Projects Pty Ltd (King), Gap Realty Pty Ltd (Powles), Cash in Transit Pty Ltd (Pool), Envison Employment Services (Natoli), Melbourne PC User Group Inc (Vogt), Reward Hospitality (Lynch), Akron Group NT (Gray), St Vincent’s Private Hospitals Ltd (Bolitho & Castles and Others), Sunsate Airlines (Qld) Pty Ltd (Cook), TSG (Aust) Pty Ltd (Miller), Digital Fox Pty Ltd (Gambling), GoingUp Lifts (NSW) Pty Ltd (Inns), ALIF Australia Pty Ltd (Kim), The Smith’s Snackfood Company Ltd (Haku), Apex Steel Supplies (Webber), Debard Pty Ltd (Bruce), Cash in Transit Pty Ltd (Pool), GST Travel Management (Zhang), Spinifex Australia Pty Ltd (Tait).
February 8, 2018
A surging number of unfair dismissal/labour dispute applications are listed for hearing today by the Fair Work Commission. The lawsuit contains: Hymix Australia Pty Ltd (Lozanoski), Bradfield and Prichard Real estate Consultants Pty Ltd (Moussa), The Jewellery Group (Miles), Auzcorp Australia Pty Ltd (Dignam), Verve Property Services Pty Ltd (Cassar), Bell and Barnett Menswear (Lahanas), Compass Group Australia (O’Brien), Spotless Management Services Pty Ltd (Kosmanopoulos), Transport Workers’ Union of Australia – Victorian/Tasmanian Branch (McCrone), Whispir Australia Pty Ltd (Muhammad Ijaz), Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd (Clarke), Global Traffic Management Pty Ltd (McGee), The Agricultural Bank of China, Sydney Branch (Ding), TFC Services Pty Ltd (Currently in external administration) (Wheatland), Aldi Stores (A Limited Partnership) (Bakshi), Esso Australia Pty Ltd (Gelagotis, Hatwell), Van Rensburg Nominees Pty Ltd (Thompson), Dutel Pty Ltd (King), AMC House, Darwin Base Waste, Forgacs Defence, Darwin Offshore Logistics Base (Tosch), Queensland Facility Service Pty Ltd (Anderson, Humphreys, Murphy), Meglio (Cameron), EPFS Holdings Pty Ltd (Johnstone), Mater Misericordiae Health Services Brisbane Limited (McGuiness), Balance! Edmonton Family Practice Pty Ltd (Young), Aboriginal Family Legal Service Southern Queensland Indigenous Corporation (Nze-Nertram),LD&D Milk Pty Ltd (Crompton), ASHT Pty Ltd (Wills), Bendigo Health Care Group (Collins), Apex Steel Supplies (Webber), Credit Corporation Credit Finance Pty Ltd & Credit Corp Group Limited (Reardon).
February 8, 2018
CASE PROCEDURES – stay order – s.604 Fair Work Act 2009 – appeal – at first instance Commission determined that casual employees who were on shift work and who were not cleaners were entitled to additional loading – Commission also provided provisional views on other matters subject to further hearing – appellant appealed decision and sought stay order on first matter noting that they would be liable for back-pay and additional amounts going forward – Commission found that there is an arguable case with some prospect of success given that it involves a complex and contested interpretation of the agreement – satisfied that the balance of convenience favours stay order – stay order issued on condition that appellant deposit $50,000 into an interest bearing account within seven days. Appeal by Swickers Kingaroy Bacon Factory P/L against decision of Asbury DP of 22 December 2017 [[2017] FWC 7049] Re: Bacon Factories’ Union of Employees, Queensland
February 8, 2018
ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS – dispute about matter arising under agreement – ss.604, 739 Fair Work Act 2009 – permission to appeal – Full Bench – appeal against decision concerning dispute arising under Visy (Smithfield, Warwick Farm, Dandenong, O’Connor) Enterprise Agreement 2016 – terms of enterprise agreement must be permitted matters under s.172(1) of FW Act – at first instance the Commission found that clauses in the agreement that restricted or qualified Visy’s right to use independent contractors were not permitted matters – appellant advanced four grounds of appeal – Full Bench agreed with Commission that labour hire provision was not a permitted matter – Airport Fuel Services considered – not satisfied appeal should be granted on the basis of error or public interest – permission to appeal refused. Appeal by “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) against decision of McKenna C of 24 October 2017 [[2017] FWC 5529] Re: Visy Board P/L t/a Visy Board
February 8, 2018
MODERN AWARDS – 4 yearly review – s.156 Fair Work Act 2009 – Full Bench – review of provisions concerning abandonment of employment in six modern awards – referred to Iplex where it was determined that abandonment of employment clause in Manufacturing Award (clause 21) was not a term permitted or required in a modern award and so had no effect – Manufacturing Award and five other awards with equivalent clauses reviewed in light of Iplex – Full Bench concluded clause 21 be deleted from Manufacturing Award – no distinguishing circumstances in remaining five awards containing equivalent terms so Full Bench concluded they should be deleted also – invited proposals for a provision to replace current clauses. 4 yearly review of modern awards – Abandonment of Employment
