He wasn't told it was an interview and couldn't read the contract
A catering employer's attempt to wipe a redundant worker's severance has fallen flat after the Fair Work Commission found it never actually secured him a new job.
Catering Industries NSW Pty Ltd applied to reduce the worker's seven weeks of redundancy pay to nil. The company argued it had lined up alternative employment for him with the incoming operator at the same aged care facility where he had worked for more than three years. The Commission disagreed - on both counts.
The worker, a 25-year-old First Nations man from the Dunghutti Nation, has an intellectual disability and lives in Port Macquarie with his family. He has significant caring responsibilities, looking after his father, who has mental health challenges, and his grandfather. He originally landed the job through Advanced Personnel Management (APM), an organisation that helps people with a disability find long-term work. APM gave him six months of structured support when he started - introducing him to colleagues, connecting him with an Aboriginal case worker, and giving him time to learn the role.
He worked part-time at Highfields Manor Aged Care Facility as a catering assistant, earning $25.85 an hour. Then Catering Industries lost the contract.
On April 7, 2026, the company emailed staff to say its services at the site were ending on May 5. The letter promised the company would "endeavour to offer" alternative roles and noted that Highfields...
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