Month in Review | June 2022

In the News

  • NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced that the public sector wage cap will be increased from 2% to 3%. Health staff will also receive a one-off $3,000 payment, as a “thank you” for their work during the pandemic.
  • From 1 July 2022, the national minimum wage will be $812.60 per week, or $21.38 per hour, after the Fair Work Commission announced the outcome of the annual wage review this morning.
  • The Fair Work Commission has announced that, effective from 1 July 2022, the high income threshold in unfair dismissal matters will be increased from $158,500 to $162,000 and the compensation cap will be lifted from $79,250 to $81,000.

In the Courts

  • In an underpayment claim brought under small claims procedure, the Federal Circuit and Family Court has held that it has the jurisdiction to make a finding that a former director of an employer was involved in a contravention of the Fair Work Act.
  • The Fair Work Commission has held that the redundancy of a financial analyst was genuine, despite also finding that the employer had acted harshly and unfairly in not affording the employee an opportunity to be redeployed to other positions available in the reorganisation.
  • The Fair Work Commission has ordered for a teacher to be reinstated to her position, after finding that the decision to terminate her employment on the basis of her vaccination status was ‘indefensible’.
  • Bound by the High Court rulings in Jamsek and Personnel Contracting, the Fair Work Commission has dismissed a claim made by an Uber driver, on the basis that his contract did not point towards an employment relationship.