Angela Moutinho v Ecetera Pty Ltd

[2015] FWC 6384

[2015] FWC 6384

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.394—Unfair dismissal

Angela Moutinho
v
Ecetera Pty Ltd
(U2015/5732)

VICE PRESIDENT LAWLER SYDNEY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2015

Application for relief from unfair dismissal.

[1] In this matter, the Decision was given in transcript, a copy of which is attached.

VICE PRESIDENT

Appearances:

Ms A Moutinho, the Applicant, appeared for herself

There was no appearance for the Respondent

Hearing details:

2015

Sydney

8 September

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<Price code A, PR571938>

PN54 This is an application for an unfair dismissal remedy. It was filed on 4 June 2015 and followed the termination of the applicant’s employment. Consequence upon the liquidation of the company, the respondent, by which she had been employed as the financial controller, the respondent is in liquidation and indeed subject to a voluntary winding up. That fact does not exclude the jurisdiction of the Commission to grant a remedy to the applicant in this case and in that respect I rely upon the reasoning of the Full Bench in Smith & Ors v Trollop Silverwood & Beck Pty Ltd (in liquidation), print PR940508. I am satisfied on the basis of the applicant’s evidence that she was protected from unfair dismissal and that her dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable for the reasons that I previously outlined.

PN55 I am satisfied I have taken into account each of the matters that are specified in section 387 and I conclude that the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable and that a remedy is appropriate. I am satisfied that in circumstances where the respondent is in liquidation and has apparently no money, that an order for reinstatement is not appropriate and accordingly an order for compensation should be made.

PN56 I am satisfied that applying a Sprigg predictive exercise does not yield an appropriate figure in this case and in reliance on the authority of the Full Bench in Smith & Kimball v Moore Paragon, I determine an appropriate figure is an amount equivalent to three months’ remuneration, which is an amount of $40,000 plus the equivalent superannuation. There will be an order for compensation in that amount.

PN57 Ms Moutinho, you wouldn’t imagine that I manage to actually pass honours level Pure Mathematics at university but I did have a professor once in my first year who was very - a heavy hitting mathematician from the US who couldn’t add two single digit numbers together. So to correct that error of calculation, three months which is the equivalent of one quarter of the annual remuneration of the applicant is $30,000 plus the superannuation figure. An order to that effect will issue.

PN58 Now I think Ms Moutinho, that disposes of the matter formally. This has obviously been a very unpleasant, traumatic, awful experience for you. You seem to be managing it with good grace though.

PN59 MS MOUTINHO: Getting there.

PN60 THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes. At a personal level, could I just commend to you the sooner that you can put this behind you and not allow it to eat you up, the better. Unjust things happen to people without there being effective remedies available and I suspect that that’s what you’re going to find in this case, that you’ll end up with some FEG money perhaps, a long way down the track but you’ve clearly got the skillset and a presentation that means that you’re going to have no difficulty finding effective employment and that you should get your head into that space as soon as you can. Anything further from you?