Unions take Qantas to High Court in JobKeeper fight

Unions claim Qantas has underpaid many of its workers more than $10,000 each by subsidising their overtime payments with the government's JobKeeper scheme. The Australian Services Union, Transport Workers Union and Flight Attendants' Association of Australia are among a coalition that will on Wednesday seek leave to appeal a landmark court judgment on how JobKeeper works to the High Court. The case has broader implications for the government’s JobKeeper scheme because it could force some companies to pay staff more in overtime and penalty rates. The unions won their legal challenge to the way Qantas applied JobKeeper payments in the Federal Court in September before the case was overturned on appeal last month. The Business Council of Australia – which lobbied the government to change the JobKeeper rules after Qantas unions won the initial case – said December's appeal win had been a "great relief to many businesses across the economy" that paid JobKeeper according to ATO advice. "It is disappointing that these arrangements have again been thrown into uncertainty by this appeal [to the High Court]," a BCA spokesman said. Story has details.<br/>