CJ Manfield Pty Ltd v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia

In the case of CJ Manfield Pty Ltd v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, the appeal by CJ Manfield Pty Ltd was dismissed. The dispute involved whether the employment contracts between CJ Manfield and the employees provided for an "all-in" rate of pay, which excluded the entitlement in the applicable industrial award for the payout of accrued annual leave upon termination of employment. The court had to determine if the contracts included an exclusion of the award's leave entitlement or if they incorporated the award terms.

The court's reasoning focused on the interpretation of the contract's clauses and how they related to the award's provisions. Clause 2.1 of the contract indicated that it aligned with the applicable industrial award and statutory requirements, suggesting an intent to incorporate the award's terms into the contract. However, the court noted that Clause 5, which dealt with leave, referred to the offer of employment without specifying any particular leave entitlements. Clause 6 highlighted that the "all-purpose weekly wage rate" included various allowances, but it did not explicitly address the termination payment for accrued annual leave.

The court concluded that the contract did not explicitly exclude the award's entitlement to payment for accrued annual leave upon termination. Given the silence of the contract on this specific point and the lack of a clear intention to exclude the award's provisions, the court found that the employees were entitled to the leave payout as per the award. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the employees were entitled to their accrued annual leave payments.