Notification under section 130 by New South Wales Local Government, Clerical, Administrative, Energy, Airlines & Utilities Union of a dispute with Newcastle City Council re half-day paid leave. [2014] NSWIRComm 15

Notification under section 130 by New South Wales Local Government, Clerical, Administrative, Energy, Airlines & Utilities Union of a dispute with Newcastle City Council re half-day paid leave. [2014] NSWIRComm 15

The Commission held that half-day leave on the last working day before Christmas was a long-standing customary usage within Newcastle City Council employment and was imported into employees' contracts of employment. The 29 November 2013 Picnic Day/Christmas party was different in authority, character, substance and utility, and could not validly substitute for the Christmas Eve half-day leave. Consultation with the Picnic Committee was invalid for this purpose because that committee had no functional role or representative capacity concerning the Lord Mayoral Grant Day. The Council's productivity and expense arguments were not established. The appropriate remedy was an order requiring the...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
04 April 2014
Procedural Posture
Notification Under Section 130 of a Dispute Concerning Half Day Paid Leave / Arbitration Following Compulsory Conference and Attempted Conciliation
Outcome
Order made requiring the half-day paid leave to be afforded on 24 December 2013 in the same terms and conditions as applied in 2012; matter concluded.
Legal Topics
['custom and Practice' 'half Day Paid Leave' 'lord Mayoral Grant Day' 'managerial Prerogative' 'dispute Settlement Procedure' 'workplace Consultation']
['industrial Relations' 'employment Law'] ['custom and Practice' 'half Day Paid Leave' 'lord Mayoral Grant Day' 'managerial Prerogative' 'dispute Settlement Procedure' 'workplace Consultation']

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Procedural Posture

Notification Under Section 130 of a Dispute Concerning Half Day Paid Leave / Arbitration Following Compulsory Conference and Attempted Conciliation

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether half-day paid leave on the last working day before Christmas was an established custom and usage forming part of Newcastle City Council employees' entitlements." 'Whether Newcastle City Council could substitute the Christmas Eve half-day leave with attendance at a Christmas party following Picnic Day on 29 November 2013.' 'Whether consultation about the changed arrangements was valid where it involved the Picnic Committee.' 'Whether productivity, expense, and managerial prerogative justified removal or alteration of the half-day leave for 24 December 2013.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Commission held that half-day leave on the last working day before Christmas was a long-standing customary usage within Newcastle City Council employment and was imported into employees' contracts of employment. The 29 November 2013 Picnic Day/Christmas party was different in authority, character, substance and utility, and could not validly substitute for the Christmas Eve half-day leave. Consultation with the Picnic Committee was invalid for this purpose because that committee had no functional role or representative capacity concerning the Lord Mayoral Grant Day. The Council's productivity and expense arguments were not established. The appropriate remedy was an order requiring the...

Court Disposition

Order made requiring the half-day paid leave to be afforded on 24 December 2013 in the same terms and conditions as applied in 2012; matter concluded.

Orders

  • ['The half day paid leave, known as the Lord Mayoral Grant, shall be afforded to employees of Newcastle City Council on 24 December 2013 in the same terms and conditions as those which applied on the day observed in 2012.']