High Court Expands Employer’s Genuine Redundancy Obligations
In a landmark decision, the High Court of Australia has expanded employers’ genuine redundancy obligations, confirming that for a redundancy to be genuine, employers must explore all redeployment options, including the possibility of reallocating work performed by contractors to existing employees. This decision serves as a critical reminder for businesses managing organisational change: genuine redundancy requires not just consultation, but a proactive review of how work can be reorganised to retain employees. Background: What Happened at Helensburgh Coal During the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced demand led Helensburgh Coal to scale back its operations, resulting in job losses. While the company consulted with employee representatives, workers urged the business to reduce its reliance on external contractors instead of making employees redundant. Although Helensburgh reduced contractor use slightly, 90 employees were dismissed, and 47 were declared redundant. The affected workers argued that the company could have further reduced contractor work and redeployed existing employees. After a series of Fair Work Commission (the Commission) hearings, it was determined that the dismissals were not genuine redundancies. Helensburgh appealed to the High Court, which unanimously upheld the Commission’s decision. Legal Principles: What Is a Genuine Redundancy? Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), a redundancy is… Read More
Read More