Redundancy - can an employer avoid payouts by getting their employees another job?

The Fair Work Act (the Act) contains a provision (s 120) which says that if an employer "obtains other acceptable employment" for an employee it is making redundant, it may get redundancy payments reduced. In particular, on application to the Fair Work Commission it may obtain an order reducing the redundancy payout otherwise payable under the scale in s 119 of the Act to a specified amount (which can be $nil).

In FBIS International Protective Services (Aust )Pty Ltd v MUA and Fair Work Commission [2015] FCAFC 90 (26 June 2015), the Full Federal Court looked at this issue and held that the employer in this case had not done enough to obtain other acceptable alternative employment for its employees to warrant a reduction in redundancy pay under the Act.