An update on the redundancy pay exemption for obtaining other acceptable employment

Earlier this year, we prepared an article on what employers have to do to claim the redundancy pay exemption under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). Under section 120 of the FW Act, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) can reduce or eliminate the redundancy pay obligations of an employer if it is satisfied that the employer has obtained "other acceptable employment" for a redundant employee.

One of the cases that we looked at was that of Maritime Union of Australia v FBIS International Protective Services (Aust) Pty Ltd [2014] FWCFB 6737 (21 October 2014) (FBIS case) in which the FWC found that FBIS International Protective Services (Aust) Pty Ltd (FBIS) had not done enough to "obtain" other acceptable employment for 49 of its security industry workers. It was therefore liable for redundancy pay, having failed to meet the requirements of section 120 of the FW Act.