Community & Public Sector Union v Telstra Corporation Ltd [2001] FCA 267

Community & Public Sector Union v Telstra Corporation Ltd [2001] FCA 267

The email sent by Telstra's Employee Relations managing director to managers and team leaders was an instruction that employees employed under awards or certified agreements were to be discriminated against in the redundancy process. Although the instruction had not been acted upon and therefore had not injured any employee, it introduced an additional detrimental criterion into the resource rebalancing process and made the employment of award and certified-agreement employees less secure in a real and substantial way. Their position was therefore altered to their prejudice within s 298K(1)(c). The question whether the alteration was for a prohibited reason was remitted because it had not...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 March 2001
Procedural Posture
Industrial Law Appeal Concerning Alleged Breach of Freedom of Association Provisions / Appeal From Dismissal of Application for Imposition of Penalties Under S 298 K(1) of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (cth)
Outcome
Appeal allowed; orders of the primary judge set aside; matter remitted to the primary judge.
Legal Topics
['freedom of Association' 'prohibited Reasons' 'redundancy Selection' 'australian Workplace Agreements' 'awards and Certified Agreements' 'alteration of Employee Position to Prejudice']
['industrial Law' 'employment Law'] ['freedom of Association' 'prohibited Reasons' 'redundancy Selection' 'australian Workplace Agreements' 'awards and Certified Agreements' 'alteration of Employee Position to Prejudice']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Industrial Law Appeal Concerning Alleged Breach of Freedom of Association Provisions / Appeal From Dismissal of Application for Imposition of Penalties Under S 298 K(1) of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (cth)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether Telstra's email to managers and team leaders constituted an instruction to discriminate against employees entitled to benefits under awards or certified agreements in the redundancy selection process." 'Whether an instruction that had not been implemented could alter the position of employees to their prejudice within s 298K(1)(c) of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth).' "Whether Telstra's conduct constituted a threat to engage in proscribed conduct under s 298K(1)." 'Whether any prejudicial alteration was for a prohibited reason under s 298L(1)(h).']

Ratio Decidendi

The email sent by Telstra's Employee Relations managing director to managers and team leaders was an instruction that employees employed under awards or certified agreements were to be discriminated against in the redundancy process. Although the instruction had not been acted upon and therefore had not injured any employee, it introduced an additional detrimental criterion into the resource rebalancing process and made the employment of award and certified-agreement employees less secure in a real and substantial way. Their position was therefore altered to their prejudice within s 298K(1)(c). The question whether the alteration was for a prohibited reason was remitted because it had not...

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; orders of the primary judge set aside; matter remitted to the primary judge.

Orders

  • ['The orders of the primary judge made on 23 June 2000 be set aside.' 'The matter be remitted to the primary judge to be determined in accordance with these reasons for judgment.']