A recent case handed down by the Federal Circuit Court has
important take-outs for anyone involved in employing or dismissing
staff – including managers, owners and HR teams.
Two business owners were ordered to pay, between them, $174,000
in compensation and $61,000 in penalties for unfairly dismissing a
pregnant employee.
Here are five lessons from the case:
- Individual employees can be liable for
penalties: Legislation allows for penalties against a
person who is involved in a contravention of the
Fair Work Act. The Court said that "to establish the
contravention it is only necessary to show that the Respondents
knowingly participated in the activity which constituted the
contraventions." If you are involved in an unlawful
dismissal of a staff member and you are prosecuted by the Fair Work
Ombudsman, you will be at risk of being personally liable for civil
penalties. In this case, the individuals involved were fined $8,000
each.
