The Fair Work Commission has indicated that it will conduct a review of abandonment clauses contained in six modern awards, following the decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission in Benias v Iplex Pipelines Australia Pty Ltd [2017] FWCFB 38.
In the decision, the Full Bench overturned the decision of Senior Deputy President O’Callaghan ([2016] FWC 6624), who dismissed an employee’s unfair dismissal claim on the basis that the termination was not at the initiative of the employer.
The facts
Section 386 of the Fair Work Act 2009 defines a dismissal as a termination of employment ‘on the employer’s initiative’. The Act provides that where an employee’s employment is not terminated on the employer’s initiative (i.e. a voluntary resignation), that employee is unable to pursue a remedy for Unfair Dismissal. [...]
