Fair Work Ombudsman v Le

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia heard a dispute between the Fair Work Ombudsman and Mr. Le. The Ombudsman alleged that Mr. Le had contravened section 55 of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) by failing to comply with a term of an enterprise agreement that required him to pay his employees a redundancy payment. The specific term in question was clause 17.2 of the relevant enterprise agreement, which stipulated that employees were entitled to redundancy pay upon termination of employment.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether Mr. Le's failure to pay the redundancy entitlements constituted a contravention of section 55 of the *Fair Work Act*. Section 55 requires employers to comply with the terms of an applicable enterprise agreement. The Court was therefore required to determine if the obligation to pay redundancy pay under clause 17.2 of the enterprise agreement was a term that Mr. Le was legally bound to comply with under the Act.

Judge Brown reasoned that section 55 of the *Fair Work Act* imposes a positive obligation on employers to comply with all terms of an enterprise agreement that has been approved by the Fair Work Commission. The Court found that clause 17.2 of the enterprise agreement clearly stipulated a redundancy payment entitlement, and Mr. Le, as the employer, was bound by this term. His failure to make the required payments was therefore a direct contravention of section 55. The Court applied the principle that enterprise agreements, once registered, have the force of law and their terms are legally enforceable.

The Court ordered Mr. Le to pay pecuniary penalties for his contraventions of section 55 of the *Fair Work Act*.