Employer cites surplus staffing in the team structure
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently examined an unfair dismissal claim involving an event specialist who argued his dismissal was not a genuine redundancy after being terminated 16 weeks before his fixed-term contract expired.
The case arose when the worker was dismissed early due to his manager's return from maternity leave, despite having a 12-month contract with a specific end date that had not yet been reached.
The worker argued his dismissal was unfair because it occurred due to the employer's internal delays rather than genuine operational changes, and he was not given proper procedural fairness or redeployment opportunities.
He maintained that he had a reasonable expectation that his employment would continue until the contract expiry date and that his early termination was caused by the employer's finance approval delays.
The employer contested the worker's claim, arguing the dismissal was a genuine redundancy because the returning manager's presence created surplus staffing in the team structure.
The organisation maintained that with the manager's return from maternity leave, there were more employees than required positions, making the worker's role redundant within their operational structure.
The employment relationship involved a not-for-profit organisation with approximately 686 employees across 19 countries, with 15 employees in its Sydney office.
...Tribune News Editor [email protected] TWO Bahamians were indicted in separate US federal districts last week on charges linked to passport fraud and false claims of American citizenship, acc...