Redeployment and Redundancy Pay

By Marilyn Pittard

Is an employee entitled to redundancy pay where they are offered redeployment to a position substantially different to their original position and where they elect not to take up the newly offered position?

In the case of Antouny v Anzam (Aust) Pty ltd [2003] VSCA 145 (11 September 2003), the Victorian Court of Appeal considered whether redundancy should be paid to an employee where the employee was offered a new position he claimed was substantially different to his previous position as the national accountant and which he did not accept. The claimant sough redundancy because he claimed he was not offered suitable alternative employment.

The problem became that he was not covered by an award providing redundancy pay and the words "suitable alternative employment" had no legal application to the case. Executive employees are generally not covered by awards, so statutory or award redundancy does not apply

(Lexis Nexis Butterworths Employment Llaw Bulletin; vol. 9, no. 9)