Employment

Engineering company UGL Limited has denied wrongdoing in a class action on behalf of casual aluminium construction and manufacturing workers who were allegedly underpaid for over three years, saying they were, in fact, overpaid.

A judge has dismissed an urgent application to block Qantas from taking disciplinary action against unvaccinated employees, but the airline has committed to extending their leave with pay until a challenge to its COVID-19 vaccination policy can be heard.

Labour on-hire and recruitment company CoreStaff has settled a class action alleging it lured workers to Australia from Papua New Guinea with the promise of long-term work, only to terminate their employment agreements less than three years after they relocated.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has been hit with a $45 million lawsuit by the Finance Sector Union for allegedly failing to provide thousands of employees with paid rest breaks for at least six years.

A law firm has escaped an order for costs sought by a Melbourne city council that argued the firm had turned a blind eye to a client’s lack of credibility in an unfair dismissal case.

Switzer Financial Group has sued a former senior adviser, claiming he sent a defamatory email to a client accusing the firm -- run by financial commentator Peter Switzer -- of lacking concern about a conflict of interest.

Herbert Smith Freehills has picked up a leading work health and safety lawyer from Clyde & Co to join the Big Six law firm in Sydney as special counsel.

Telstra is liable for the “sickening” conduct of a former employee who accessed confidential contact information to launch a four-year campaign of sexual harassment against his next-door neighbours, a new lawsuit alleges.

Legislation being advanced by the Morrison government that would allow religious statements of belief to override laws that bar discrimination “waters down long-standing and hard-fought protections” and clashes with international human rights law, the country's peak legal body has said.

Last year brought economic growth and success for law firms, but 2021 was not only marked with good news. A slew of law firms were dragged into litigation by disgruntled ex-clients, with some paying out millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits accusing them of giving bad advice.