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Unions lose after taking Qantas to court over sick pay entitlements
Qantas’ decision to stop stood-down workers from accessing their sick leave has been upheld by Australia’s highest court.
A group of unions sought to reverse the national airline’s policy for those placed on the now-expired JobKeeper program.
The unions say such treatment was “cynical and callous” and harmed employees seeking treatment for illnesses such as cancer.
A Federal Court appeals bench in November rejected the unions’ claim, saying that because the employees were not working there was nothing to take leave from.
Qantas won an earlier Federal Court case in May.
The group of unions sought leave to appeal those decisions to the High Court, arguing Qantas was acting “like a corporate dictator”.
The High Court on Friday upheld the Federal Court’s ruling.
Qantas stood down 20,000 workers back in March 2o2o, due COVID-19 restrictions.