Rilstone v BP Australia Pty Ltd [2008] FCA 44

Rilstone v BP Australia Pty Ltd [2008] FCA 44

The duress claim failed because the applicant did not prove that Ms Elm made clear to Bill Schulze that the AWA was not negotiable and that no employment would be offered if it was not signed; the Court accepted Ms Elm's version of the exchange. The reg 8.11 claim failed because the regulation did not identify who was liable to penalty. BP was not liable under reg 8.13(2) because it was not the employer under the AWAs and Riverside was not shown to be BP's alter ego. Riverside contravened reg 8.13(2) in respect of the identified AWAs because the employer signatures it obtained were not accompanied by the required information, but reg 8.13(2) did not apply to employee signatures in the...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
01 February 2008
Procedural Posture
Civil Penalty Proceeding Under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (cth) and Workplace Relations Regulations 2006 / Reasons for Judgment on Liability; Penalty Submissions for the Second Respondent Stood Over
Outcome
The application was dismissed to the extent that it claimed relief against BP Australia Pty Ltd. The matter was otherwise stood over for submissions on any penalty to be imposed on No 1 Riverside Quay Pty Ltd for contravention of reg 8.13(2).
Legal Topics
['australian Workplace Agreements' 'duress in Connection With an Awa' 'workplace Agreement Formal Requirements' 'civil Penalty Provisions' 'employer Signatures and Identifying Information']
['industrial Law' 'employment Law'] ['australian Workplace Agreements' 'duress in Connection With an Awa' 'workplace Agreement Formal Requirements' 'civil Penalty Provisions' 'employer Signatures and Identifying Information']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Civil Penalty Proceeding Under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (cth) and Workplace Relations Regulations 2006 / Reasons for Judgment on Liability; Penalty Submissions for the Second Respondent Stood Over

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the respondents applied duress to a 17-year-old employee in connection with an AWA contrary to s 400(5) of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth).' 'Whether the respondents were liable to a civil penalty for alleged contravention of reg 8.11(1)(c) of the Workplace Relations Regulations 2006 because proposed AWAs did not include the full name and address of each person who signed the agreement.' 'Whether BP Australia Pty Ltd was liable under reg 8.13(2) where Riverside, not BP, was the employer under the AWAs.' 'Whether No 1 Riverside Quay Pty Ltd contravened reg 8.13(2) because employer signatures on 63 AWAs were not accompanied by the required full names, addresses and authority information.' 'Whether reg 8.13(2) required employee signatures on the AWAs to be accompanied by full names and addresses.']

Ratio Decidendi

The duress claim failed because the applicant did not prove that Ms Elm made clear to Bill Schulze that the AWA was not negotiable and that no employment would be offered if it was not signed; the Court accepted Ms Elm's version of the exchange. The reg 8.11 claim failed because the regulation did not identify who was liable to penalty. BP was not liable under reg 8.13(2) because it was not the employer under the AWAs and Riverside was not shown to be BP's alter ego. Riverside contravened reg 8.13(2) in respect of the identified AWAs because the employer signatures it obtained were not accompanied by the required information, but reg 8.13(2) did not apply to employee signatures in the...

Court Disposition

The application was dismissed to the extent that it claimed relief against BP Australia Pty Ltd. The matter was otherwise stood over for submissions on any penalty to be imposed on No 1 Riverside Quay Pty Ltd for contravention of reg 8.13(2).

Orders

  • ['The application be dismissed to the extent that it claims relief against the first respondent.' 'Subject to order 1, the matter be stood over to a date to be fixed.']