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$600,000 penalty for company’s boycott of subcontractor without an EBA following union’s industrial action threats
Introduction Waterproofing Industries Qld Pty Ltd (WPI/the subcontractor) entered into a subcontract with J Hutchinson Pty Ltd (Hutchinson/the Company) to perform certain waterproofing works at a particular construction project called the Southpoint project. The subcontractor did not have a CFMMEU enterprise agreement (EA) and the CFMMEU complained that it was not consulted prior to the business being engaged. Shortly after, the CFMMEU threatened to engage in industrial action if Hutchinson allowed the subcontractor to continue working on the Southpoint project. As a result of the CFMMEU’s threats, Hutchinson capitulated and the subcontractor was excluded from the site and subsequently had its subcontract terminated. Contraventions of Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) The Court found Hutchinson contravened s 45E(3) of the Competition...
5 September 2022Changes to the Unfair Dismissal Remuneration Cap, National Minimum Wage, Minimum Award Rates and Filing Fees
Introduction New award rates, unfair dismissal thresholds and other changes in the employment arena have been announced, some of which commence from 1 July 2022. These are some of the main changes. Unfair dismissal threshold (high income threshold) and maximum compensation cap The high income threshold will increase from the previous $158,500 to $162,000 from 1 July 2022. This means employees whose annual rate of earnings is $162,000 (which excludes statutory superannuation) or more, and who are not covered by an award or enterprise agreement, are unable to pursue an unfair dismissal application. The change also means that the maximum compensation that can be awarded for an unfair dismissal claim will increase from $79,250 to $81,000. National minimum wage The national minimum wage will increase to $812.60 per week or to $21.38 per hour (calculated on the basis of a 38-hour week for a full-time emp...
28 June 2022Settlement agreement reached at conciliation enough to dismiss unfair dismissal application despite no signed settlement agreement
A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed that the settlement of an unfair dismissal claim at conciliation can be binding and result in the employee’s claim being dismissed by the Commission, even if the employee later refuses to sign a written settlement agreement. The employee was unsuccessful in her attempt to continue her unfair dismissal claim after the Fair Work Commission found that the parties had reached a binding settlement agreement at the conciliation. The Commission found there had been a settlement of the claim notwithstanding the fact that the employee refused to sign a settlement document because it contained a clause she objected to, namely, a term preventing her from ever seeking employment with the same employer in the future. The issue for the Commission was “if a settlement agreement was reached in conciliation and, if it was, whether it was subject to written terms or whether it was agreed that it would be redu...
30 May 2022