The High Court has denied special leave to unions representing 20,000 Qantas workers who were stood down during the coronavirus pandemic to challenge a ruling that they were not entitled to paid sick or compassionate leave.
In a victory for gig economy workers, the Fair Work Commission has found that a Deliveroo driver who was sacked for not working fast enough was an employee, saying the company’s power to exert control over its workers with data collected through its app weighed in favour of a finding of that employer-employee relationship existed.
Queensland rail operator Aurizon has been sued for breach of contract and “flagrant” copyright infringement for allegedly using software produced by French software giant Dassault without the necessary licence.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has proposed to deny authorisation for Qantas to coordinate with Japan Airlines on flights between Australia and Japan despite the regulator’s increased flexibility on the travel sector during COVID-19.
The High Court has denied special leave to a group of Queensland taxi drivers seeking compensation from the state for losses allegedly caused by ride sharing services like Uber, in a lawsuit a judge described as “fanciful”.
Supermarket giant Woolworths can recoup losses from a 2014 train derailment in South Australia despite a contractual clause excluding force majeure events, the NSW Supreme Court has found.
Virgin Australia is facing legal action from the Transport Workers Union which says the airline was not experiencing the necessary work shortage when it stood down some of its ground crew staff after the federal government’s Jobkeeper wage subsidy came to an end over the weekend.
Qantas has appealed a decision that found its dispute with former executive Nick Rohrlach over his defection to competitor Virgin Australia should be heard in Singapore, saying the exclusive jurisdiction clause in his contract did not “bite”.
Qantas has hit back at a lawsuit by a 64-year-old long haul pilot that has flown with the airline for 40 years accusing it of age discrimination for only providing voluntary redundancy to employees under 63 years old.
A judge has criticised the “clearly strategic” moves by Qantas and former senior executive Nick Rohrlach in their fight over whose lawsuit should resolve a dispute about the terms of his defection to competitor Virgin Australia.