Employment

Two former staffers of senator Jacqui Lambie who represented themselves in an unsuccessful unfair dismissal case have been hit with nearly $50,000 in legal costs each due to their “unreasonable conduct” in the case, including attempts to turn the proceeding into “a trial by media.”

A full bench of the Fair Work Commission has overturned a ruling that a Virgin Australia flight attendant was unfairly sacked, finding she breached the airline’s policies by sleeping on the job and stashing snacks in her crew bag.

A former Norton Rose Fulbright digital marketing manager has dropped her appeal of dismissed claims against two of the firm’s human resources managers in a case alleging she was fired after she complained of bullying and sex discrimination by her supervisor. 

Qantas was entitled to take adverse action against ground crew to stave off the possibility of future industrial action, the airline has told the High Court in an appeal of a finding that it breached the Fair Work Act when it outsourced the crew’s work during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A former University of Technology Sydney professor based in Shanghai who accused the university of race and age discrimination over two years ago has been given another chance to plead his case, after a judge found he failed to fix pleadings that were previously struck out.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has filed court proceedings against the owner of Super Cheap Auto, Rebel Sport, Macpac, BCF and Ray’s Outdoors for allegedly underpaying thousands of employees across Australia.

The fate of 25 unfair dismissal claims by former DP World employees hangs in the balance after the Fair Work Commission ruled that the stevedoring company failed to consult its workers about its COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Some of Australia’s biggest law firms were targeted by lawsuits in 2022, facing allegations of negligence or bad advice from clients, or else accused by their own partners of misconduct.

A Boeing Defence instructor who was sacked for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination has won an unfair dismissal case, with the Fair Work Commission finding it was “harsh and unreasonable” for Boeing to fire him while he was in the running for another role at the company.

Hospitality giant Mantle Group has been found to have systematically ripped off employees and could face a federal police investigation for giving misleading evidence to the workplace umpire.