Re Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2011) Award (No 4) [2011] NSWIRComm 130

Re Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2011) Award (No 4) [2011] NSWIRComm 130

Because the salary increase was ordered retrospectively from 1 July 2011, the award variations should apply to persons employed as at that operative date and for any subsequent period. The 2004 and 2008 consent award provisions did not justify an arbitrated exclusion of former employees, and it would be unfair to distinguish between employees still employed on 10 August 2011 and those who left employment before then, including retirees and employees who accepted voluntary redundancy. There was no real administrative difficulty in identifying the affected employees and making payments.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
27 September 2011
Procedural Posture
Interlocutory Applications / Interlocutory Decision on Award Variations Following Orders for a Retrospective Public Sector Salary Increase
Outcome
Award variations made, but proposed clauses limiting the retrospective salary increases to employees employed as at 10 August 2011 were deleted.
Legal Topics
['retrospective Operative Date' 'public Sector Salary Increases' 'award Variation' 'employees Leaving Employment Before Decision Date' 'voluntary Redundancy' 'retirement Benefits']
['industrial Relations' 'public Sector Employment' 'awards'] ['retrospective Operative Date' 'public Sector Salary Increases' 'award Variation' 'employees Leaving Employment Before Decision Date' 'voluntary Redundancy' 'retirement Benefits']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Interlocutory Applications / Interlocutory Decision on Award Variations Following Orders for a Retrospective Public Sector Salary Increase

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether a 2.5 per cent salary increase ordered retrospectively from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2011 should be confined to employees employed as at 10 August 2011.' 'Whether employees who left employment between 1 July 2011 and 9 August 2011, including retirees and employees who accepted voluntary redundancy, should receive the retrospective increase.' 'Whether previous consent awards in 2004 and 2008 provided a proper precedent for excluding former employees from the retrospective increase.']

Ratio Decidendi

Because the salary increase was ordered retrospectively from 1 July 2011, the award variations should apply to persons employed as at that operative date and for any subsequent period. The 2004 and 2008 consent award provisions did not justify an arbitrated exclusion of former employees, and it would be unfair to distinguish between employees still employed on 10 August 2011 and those who left employment before then, including retirees and employees who accepted voluntary redundancy. There was no real administrative difficulty in identifying the affected employees and making payments.

Court Disposition

Award variations made, but proposed clauses limiting the retrospective salary increases to employees employed as at 10 August 2011 were deleted.

Orders

  • ['The Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2008) Award is varied in terms of the schedule marked "B" that was filed on behalf of the Director of Public Employment on 21 September 2011 except that cl 4, which would have limited retrospective salary increases to employees employed as at 10 August 2011, is...