Employment

OTR Group’s network of Smokemart and Giftbox stores face a potential class action that would allege the chains breached employment laws by depriving workers of breaks during shifts.

The Federal Court must guard against “exceptions by accretion” when weighing Westpac’s application to prevent the public from accessing documents filed in a lawsuit by the bank’s former head of strategy, which has resolved in a confidential settlement, a judge heard Wednesday.

A Perth-based partner with Clifford Chance has been shown the door following an investigation into complaints by colleagues of “serious misconduct”.

Despite arguing for suppression as a means only to successful mediation, Westpac now wants a settled employment case brought by an executive kept under lock and key. And in a worrying sign the Federal Court may have lost sight of the importance of open justice, a judge has indicated she would entertain an order that the suit never see the light of day.

The former chief executive officer of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency has won her case alleging she was unfairly dismissed after complaining about the CFO, with a judge finding there was “extreme” unfairness in the decision to terminate.

Stockbroking firm Ord Minnett has challenged a judgment that found it must pay years of wages and other entitlements to a wealth adviser who was only remunerated by commission payments, a decision that could have major repercussions through the industry.

A former ATO worker who accused his employer of using heavy handed debt collection tactics against taxpayers has lost his second bid for immunity from prosecution, with an appeals court finding that whistleblowing laws only protect the disclosure itself. 

Start-up Element Zero claims Fortescue did not disclose material information to the court when it obtained search orders in its case alleging “industrial scale misuse” of the mining company’s confidential information.

Melbourne mattress and bedding start-up Sleeping Duck is seeking preliminary discovery of communications between former employees and rival company Eva Sleep, including correspondence allegedly containing financial information and trade secrets. 

A class action solicitor has paid a judgment debt of $50,000 ahead of a sequestration hearing over allegedly unpaid barrister’s fees from work on a class action against payments provider Tyro. But a court heard Tuesday the lawyer still faces a claim for unpaid superannuation by a former employee.