INDUSTRIAL LAW – Enterprise Agreements – contraventions of requirements of Enterprise Agreements – where applicant seeks declaration that her employer contravened s 50 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FWA) by terminating her employment during a dispute resolution process provided in Enterprise Agreement – where the Fair Work Commission (Commission) made a recommendation that the applicant be provided material considered by decision maker before decision to terminate was made – whether the respondent was required to respond to recommendation of Commission – where the Enterprise Agreement expressly contemplated that parties would act on, one way or another, a recommendation by Commission – whether a recommendation by Commission brought dispute resolution process to an end – where recommendation by Commission should not be construed as an end in itself – where mutual adoption of recommendation would bring dispute to end – where employer failed to advise employee before termination whether, it would act on recommendation – where employer’s failure deprived employee of right to decide to proceed to arbitration as the next step in the Enterprise Agreement’s dispute resolution process – where Enterprise Agreement required status quo to be maintained during resolution process
Held: contravention of s 50 of FWA via contravention of Enterprise Agreement required status quo during course of dispute resolution process set out in agreement established
Original article available at: https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2023/2023fca0823
For more information, see the original judgement.
