Consultation with employees

In a case decided last week, an employer was ordered to pay the union $19,000 for failing to properly consult with employees prior to effecting their redundancies as required under the enterprise agreement covering the workers.  Although the company did consult with employees, it conceded that it did not properly consult in that it did not provide for employees to have an opportunity to discuss the redundancies and so the consultation process was flawed in that regard.

It’s always important to remember that when making decisions about redundancies or other major workplace change that employers check the relevant Award or enterprise agreement to ensure that they understand and properly follow the consultation obligations for workplace changes.

Whilst this matter related to a breach of enterprise agreement claim, a failure to properly consult may also result in a successful unfair dismissal claim , even where the employer is effecting the redundancies for genuine reasons.

CFMEU v Whitehaven Coal Limited [2014] FCCA 2657 (18 November 2014)