The court personally penalised the MD at 85% of the maximum penalty
A company with no HR manager fast-tracked a worker's redundancy while he was on workers' compensation leave. A court just tallied the damage.
On 17 April 2026, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia delivered its ruling on compensation and penalties in Farragher v PBE Rutherford Mining Pty Ltd (No 2). Among the findings: the company had no senior HR professional when it carried out the restructure at the centre of the case.
Neal Farragher was the general manager at CouplerCo, a business operated under PBE Rutherford Mining. From late 2020, his working relationship with the office manager deteriorated. By October 2021 he had lodged a formal complaint about the working environment and been diagnosed with an adjustment disorder. In November 2021, he took personal leave for illness and filed a workers' compensation claim.
PBE Rutherford was already planning a restructure, with Farragher's role earmarked for redundancy by June 2022. But the court found that Managing Director David Meyn, upon and because of the complaint, began seeking to end Farragher's employment sooner. Meyn offered voluntary redundancy on 25 October 2021, the day Farragher returned from his first absence and the day before the board was due to discuss the restructure. When that offer was not accepted, an abandonment letter was issued during his subsequent absence and his server access was restricted. The court also found Meyn's...
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