Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union [2020] HCA 29

Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union [2020] HCA 29

The entitlement to paid personal/carer's leave under s 96(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) is calculated as an amount equivalent to an employee's ordinary hours of work in a week over a two-week period (i.e., 1/26 of the employee's ordinary hours of work in a year). The '10 days' refers to a 'notional day', not...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Appellant: Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd; Appellant: Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations; Respondents: Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) & Ors
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
13 August 2020
Procedural Posture
Appeal / High Court Appeal From Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Paid Personal/carer's Leave, National Employment Standards, Statutory Interpretation, Leave Accrual, Enterprise Agreements
Industrial Law Employment Law Paid Personal/carer's Leave National Employment Standards Statutory Interpretation Leave Accrual Enterprise Agreements

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Parties

Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd

Appellant

Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations

Appellant

Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) & Ors

Respondents

Procedural Posture

Appeal / High Court Appeal From Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia

Legal Issues

  1. 1 How is the entitlement to paid personal/carer's leave calculated under s 96(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)?
  2. 2 Does '10 days' in s 96(1) refer to a notional value based on ordinary hours of work over a fortnight, or to 10 absences equal to the length of an employee's rostered working day?

Ratio Decidendi

The entitlement to paid personal/carer's leave under s 96(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) is calculated as an amount equivalent to an employee's ordinary hours of work in a week over a two-week period (i.e., 1/26 of the employee's ordinary hours of work in a year). The '10 days' refers to a 'notional day', not actual working days, meaning employees accrue the same quantum of leave based on hours worked rather than days worked, ensuring fairness among employees with different patterns of work.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Set aside order 1 made by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia on 21 August 2019 and in its place declare that: 'The expression "10 days" in s 96(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) means an amount of paid personal/carer's leave accruing for every year of service equivalent to an employee's ordinary hours...