The court imposed a penalty with the aim of specific and general deterrence
The Federal Court has imposed a penalty on the respondent for failing to provide payslips as required under the Fair Work (FW) Act and dismissed the respondent’s application for 40% of its costs from the proceedings.
The court ruled in favour of Shane Heal on his breach of contract claims and acknowledged the respondent, Sydney Flames Basketball’s failure to provide payslips but dismissed other claims under the FW Act.
Heal did not receive payslips from the start of his employment until February 18, 2022. Following requests from Heal and his solicitor, the respondent eventually provided the missing payslips in February 2022 and February 2023. The court declared that the respondent had contravened s. 536(1) of the FW Act by failing to provide payslips within one working day of payment.
The court determined a $5,000 penalty for the payslip contravention, aiming for specific and general deterrence. Key considerations included the inadvertent nature of the contravention, the fact that payslips were created but not properly emailed due to an address error, and the lack of economic loss for Heal. The respondent had already taken corrective action by implementing a new payroll system, and an early admission of liability further reduced the penalty.
Heal initially sought costs for his breach of contract claims but withdrew this request. The respondent applied for 40% of its costs, arguing that Heal’s general protection claims were unreasonable. The court found that pursuing these claims, despite being unsuccessful, was not unreasonable under section 570(2)(b) of the FW Act. The claims were based on genuine, albeit weak, legal and factual grounds.
The Federal Court also dismissed the respondent’s claim for costs related to additional unreasonable conduct by Heal, such as late amendments and inefficiencies in case presentation. The court noted that such conduct did not meet the threshold of unreasonableness required for cost recovery under the FW Act.
The court imposed a $5,000 penalty on Sydney Flames Basketball Pty Ltd for the payslip contravention and dismissed the respondent’s application for costs. The parties were allowed to make submissions regarding costs related to Heal’s late withdrawal of his breach of contract claims.
Source: thelawyermag.com
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