TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – contract for specified task – ss.386, 394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for an unfair dismissal remedy – applicant worked on sections 10 and 11 of the Woolgoolga to Ballina, Pacific Highway upgrade project – respondent contended that the applicant was employed under a contract of employment for a specified task and his employment terminated on completion of the task, with the result that he was not dismissed – Dale v Hatch P/L considered – clear from ‘Engagement’ term of Contract that applicant not assured employment throughout the whole of the time that the respondent was engaged on the project – Contract stated applicant’s engagement would ‘end either when the project concludes, or the work for which you are employed on this project concludes’ – Commission found Contract was vague about length of time applicant may be employed for specific task – found applicant not employed under contract of employment for specified task – employment not terminated on completion of any specified task – satisfied dismissal harsh and unreasonable – ordered compensation of $728.62. Newton v Lend Lease Engineering P/L
October 26, 2018
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – minimum employment period – transfer of business – ss.311, 384, 394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for unfair dismissal remedy – jurisdictional objection – whether applicant’s employment satisfied minimum employment period – Commission found minimum employment period satisfied because there was a connection between the old employer (Staff Australia) and the new employer (Toll Personnel) – connection established as a result of the transferring work of the applicant performed for the old employer (Staff Australia) had been outsourced by an associated entity of the new employer (Toll Transport) – subsequently the transferring work of the applicant was performed by him as an employee of the new employer (Toll Personnel) – found applicant was a person protected from unfair dismissal – jurisdictional objection dismissed – matter to be listed for Mention and Directions. Taulapapa v Toll Personnel P/L
October 26, 2018
MODERN AWARDS – 4 yearly review – s.156 Fair Work Act 2009 – Full Bench – decision deals with outstanding technical and drafting issues arising out of the review of the awards in Group 3 and should be read in conjunction with the decisions issued on 6 July 2017 [[2017] FWCFB 3433] (the July 2017 decision), 30 October 2017 [[2017] FWCFB 5536] (the October 2017 decision) and 13 March 2018 [[2018] FWCFB 1405] (the March 2018 decision) – following the March 2018 decision, a number of Group 3 awards no longer have any outstanding technical and drafting issues which need to be addressed – the remaining Group 3 awards have a small number of outstanding technical and drafting issues, and are dealt with in this decision – each exposure draft will be updated and republished – parties will be provided with one final opportunity to comment on the technical and drafting aspects of the exposure drafts – not an opportunity to reargue matters – a Statement regarding the process for finalising the exposure drafts and concluding the award stage of the review will be issued in due course. 4 yearly review of modern awards – Award stage – Group 3
October 26, 2018
ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS – dispute about matter arising under agreement – s.739 Fair Work Act 2009 – alleged non-payment of wages – applicant covered by the Alice Springs Town Council Enterprise Agreement 2015 – contests he was fit for work between 12-18 January 2018 but was obliged to take sick leave without pay – applicant obtained medical clearance from own doctor instead of a Council-nominated practitioner as directed by the Council CEO – question whether CEO’s direction was reasonable and lawful – whether applicant entitled for five day’s wages – Commission found CEO’s direction was lawful and based on a duty of care to Council employees – applicant’s non-compliance with CEO’s direction was an improper response to the situation – application dismissed. Fitzsimmons v Alice Springs Town Council
October 26, 2018
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – Small Business Fair Dismissal Code – ss.388, 396 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for unfair dismissal remedy – Commission initially found applicant not unfairly dismissed [[2018] FWC 1638] – applicant appealed – decision quashed by Full Bench and remitted for re-hearing and determination [[2018] FWCFB 4166] – Commission found poor performance was a valid reason for dismissal but applicant not warned unsatisfactory performance would lead to dismissal – size of business and lack of access to expertise contributed to the process deficiencies – found dismissal harsh and unreasonable – applicant unfairly dismissed – ordered compensation of $3,025.20 taxed according to law plus 9.5% superannuation. Miller v Urbanite Bikes P/L t/a Urban Pedaler
October 25, 2018
Twenty-four labour dispute applications are listed today in the Fair Work Commission. Super Radio Network Pty Ltd (Pizarro), Steadmark Pty Ltd (Vazquez), Parramatta Mission (Pye), Brydens Legal Services Pty Limited (Crain), R/GA Media Group Pty Ltd (Dirks), Total Lining Systems Pty Ltd (Knight), University of Sydney (Rahim & MacDonald), Coffey Services Australia (Abran), Bilco Group Pty Ltd (Green), Braziliant Pty Ltd (Young), Bilco Group Pty Ltd (Green), Superior Food Group Pty Ltd (Njau), Australian Laboratory Services Pty Ltd (Ramanananthan), Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited (Tainsh), Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd (Abarra), M&K Gault Pty Ltd (McLeod), Royal Flying Doctor Service of Victoria (Rose), Keys and Remotes Pty Ltd (Lee), Linfox Australia Pty Ltd (Power), Qantas Ground Services Pty Ltd (Kennedy), Yarrabee Coal Company (Clegg), Tweed Health for Everyone Pty Ltd (Cox), Viterra Operations Pty Ltd (Pridham, Rose).
October 24, 2018
The unfair dismissal dismissal/labour dispute Fair Work Commission lawlist for today includes: Wesfarmers Ltd (Reid), Hitachi Construction Machinery (Australia) Pty Ltd (Garland), The Vintage Cafe (Pradhan), AG Bulktrans Pty Ltd (Duncan), Port Authority of New South Wales (McDonald), Linfox Australia Pty Ltd (Waltis), Sensis (McGuiness), Rich Corporation Pty Ltd (Joel), TRRC Pty Ltd (Goodyear), Facade Management Australia Pty Ltd (Spencer), Cooling Towers WA Pty Ltd (Rakovic), G-Corp Pty Ltd (Cook), The Griffin Coal Mining Company Pty Ltd (Garner), Leading Edge Maintenance (O’Bryan), Essential Need Projects Limited (Chowdhury), ATF APAS Unit Trust (Niarchos), GJ Consulting (Erasmus_, Linx Cargo Care Pty Ltd (Carriera), Mastac PTy Ltd (Barnes), Viterra Operations Pty Ltd (Pridham, rose), TSA (Ryan).
October 23, 2018
The Fair Work Commission unfair dismissal/labour dispute lawlist for hearing today includes: Hitachi Construction Machinery (Australia) Pty Ltd (Reid & Garland), Hitachi Power Tools Australia Pty Ltd (Steel), Dungog Ready Mixed Concrete (Walker), Monroe Springs (Australia) Pty Ltd (Tanglao), LSH Auto (Australia) Pty Ltd (Forsyth), Workforce Recruitment & Labour Services Pty Ltd (Kelly), Parmalat Australia Pty Ltd (White), Royal Botanic Gardens Board (Hunt), Omnigas Services Pty Ltd (Dunne), Foodco Group Pty Ltd (Turner), Communities@Work (Abosede), Light Industries Pty Ltd (As Trustee for the Light Industries Trust) (Durkin), Cigarette & Gift Warehouse (Needham), The Trustee for the Bassem Pharmacy Trust (Taylor), Viterra Operations Pty Ltd (Pridham, Rose), Master Tree Ninja (Whitfield).
