The clause promised eight hours' pay a day until workers were paid - a judge said it can't stand
A union chased $842,000 for two redundant crane workers. A court gave back about $12,000 - and voided the clause behind the big number.
When the Federal Court handed down its decision on June 24, 2026, it did more than settle a redundancy pay fight. It marked out the limits of what an enterprise agreement can actually do - and reminded HR teams that a signed, approved clause can still be worth nothing.
The dispute came out of a Victorian crane-hire business, GC Crane Hire. Two mobile-crane operators were made redundant in late September 2023, after the employer's mobile-cranes division - then six or seven people - hit a downturn. The union sued, listing a run of alleged breaches of the enterprise agreement and the Fair Work Act.
The headline number came from a single clause. Under the agreement, a departing worker left waiting more than two business days for "accrued entitlements and other wages owing" could claim up to eight hours' pay for every day - weekends included - until they were paid. With wages still outstanding well after the deadline, the union put that "waiting time" entitlement at $421,000.32 for each worker. Across two redundancies, about $842,000.
The court would not enforce it. The judge found the clause was not about a "permitted matter" - the test for what an enterprise agreement may validly cover - because it only starts after employment ends and is measured...
President Donald Trump used his Thursday (Jul 16) night address to make a sweeping case for his administration, mixing newly declassified intelligence on the 2020 election with familiar talking po...