Redundant Workers Reinstated For Being Unfairly Dismissed
Monday 14 July 2014 @ 10.09 a.m. | Industrial Law
The Fair Work Commission has ordered Australian engineering services company Downer EDI to reinstate three workers who were made redundant. They were further ordered to pay up to $200,000 in compensation.
Facts of the Case
The three men lost their jobs as part of a retrenchment of 106 workers from a coalmine at Boggabri in NSW, which Downer EDI operates on behalf of Idemitsu Australia Resources.
Findings of the Commission
The Commission found that Downer had failed to reasonably redeploy the workers within other divisions of the company and not just at the location where they worked. There was also no alternative methods or protocols in place to help retrenched workers find alternative work.
Furthermore, the Commission found the redundancies were “non-genuine redundancies”, as although the company was winding down production at the mine where the workers were employed, the company began advertising for the same roles just two months later.
Andrew Douglas, a lawyer, explains that the company had a legal obligation to look for suitable redeployment in other divisions of the company. Further to this, Douglas argues that companies must take a long term view towards business operations and a redundancy program that is revoked two months later will always be subjected to criticism.
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