Unfair Not to Pay Redundancy: WA IRC

By Workplace Express

A WA IRC full bench has confirmed the Commission has the discretion in unfair dismissal cases to order compensation for employees denied redundancy payments, even where they have no contractual entitlement.

In the first ruling on the issue since a landmark Industrial Appeal Court ruling last year, the full bench majority - President Peter Sharkey and Chief Commissioner Bill Coleman - said it was unfair for pathology company Epath to withhold a redundancy payment to a senior employee.

It stressed it had ordered the redundancy payout because of the "industrial unfairness" of the dismissal rather than any entitlement under his employment contract.

Epath Pty Ltd v Ihann Adriansz [2003] WAIRC 07784 (21 February 2003)