QUEENSLAND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION
CITATION: | Ball v State of Queensland (Queensland Corrective Services) [2021] QIRC 116 |
PARTIES: | Ball, Frederick v State of Queensland (Queensland Corrective Services) |
CASE NO: | TD/2017/10 |
PROCEEDING: | Application for Reinstatement |
DELIVERED ON: | 1 April 2021 |
HEARING DATES: | 21 February 2020 |
| HEARD AT: | Brisbane |
MEMBER: | O'Connor VP |
ORDER: | 1. The Application is dismissed. |
| CATCHWORDS: | INDUSTRIAL LAW - APPLICATION FOR REINSTATEMENT - where application determined by Commission and refused - where appeal to Industrial Court allowed - where application remitted to the Commission to be determined according to law - where applicant required to show cause - where applicant's conduct constituted breaches of procedures, policies and statutory obligations - where applicant's employment was terminated - whether the disciplinary process undertaken was compliant with legislative and policy procedures - whether applicant was afforded procedural fairness and natural justice - where applicant bears the onus of establishing, on the balance of probabilities, that his dismissal was unfair - whether respondent's decision to terminate was harsh, unjust or unreasonable. |
LEGISLATION: CASES: | Industrial Relations Act 1999, s73, s 77, s 78, s 79 Barclay v Nylex Corporation Pty Ltd [2003] AIRC 593 Mathieu v Higgins [2008] QSC 209 Stark v P & O Resorts (Heron Island) [1993] 144 QGIG 914 White v State of Queensland (Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service) [2017] QIRC 041 |
| APPEARANCES: | Ms S. Moody of Counsel, instructed directly by the Applicant. Mr C. Murdoch QC and Ms M. Brooks of Counsel, instructed by Crown Law, for the Respondent. |
Reasons for Decision
Background
On 2 May 2006 Mr Frederick Ball ('the Applicant') commenced employment with the State of Queensland, (Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Queensland Corrective Services) (QCS). From 2 May 2006 to 16 June 2006 the Applicant was employed to undertake the 'Entry Level Training Program (Custodial Services)' and as from June 2006 to 19 January 2017 was employed as a Custodial Correctional Officer ('CCO') at the Woodford Correctional Centre ('WCC').[1]
[1] Exhibit 1 - Affidavit of Frederick Ball filed 19 May 2017, [12].
Following Public Service Departmental Arrangements Notices (Nos 4 and 5) 2020 made by the Governor in Council on 12 and 19 November 2020 respectively under…
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- AGLC
- Ball v State of Queensland (Queensland Corrective Services) [2021] QIRC 116
- Case
- [2021] QIRC 116
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The primary legal issues addressed by the court were whether the disciplinary process followed was compliant with the relevant legislative and policy procedures, and if the applicant was afforded procedural fairness and natural justice. Additionally, the court needed to determine if the applicant successfully demonstrated that his dismissal was unfair, harsh, unjust, or unreasonable, considering the onus of proof lay with him.
The court, after thorough consideration, determined that the disciplinary process was in accordance with the required procedures, and that the applicant had not demonstrated that his dismissal was unfair, harsh, unjust, or unreasonable. The court found that the applicant had not discharged the onus of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that his dismissal was unfair. The court concluded that the respondent's decision to terminate the applicant's employment was justified and reasonable.
Accordingly, the court dismissed the application, upholding the respondent's decision to terminate the applicant's employment.
Orders
Orders of the court
1. The Application is dismissed.
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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