Gramotnev v Queensland University of Technology

In the Federal Circuit Court, Gramotnev brought an action against the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) alleging breach of contract. Gramotnev claimed that QUT breached the employment contract by failing to pay him additional benefits that he alleged were implied by law. The dispute centred around whether certain provisions in QUT’s enterprise bargaining agreements, manual of policies and procedures, statutes and policies constituted express or implied terms of the employment contract.

The court was required to decide whether the alleged implied terms were indeed terms of the employment contract, and if they existed, whether QUT breached the contract by not adhering to them. The court considered whether the provisions in QUT’s agreements and policies were contractual terms that were either expressly stated or could be implied by law. The analysis involved examining the nature and content of the documents, the context in which they were produced, and whether they were intended to form part of the employment contract.

The court concluded that the provisions in QUT’s enterprise bargaining agreements, manual of policies and procedures, statutes and policies did not constitute terms of the employment contract. The court found that none of these documents contained the additional terms which Gramotnev alleged were implied by law. Consequently, the court answered "no" to each of the separate questions posed by the plaintiff.

The court directed QUT to submit any further orders it sought by 4pm on 26 June 2013, and Gramotnev to do the same by 4pm on 3 July 2013. The final orders, however, were not provided in the extract, and it remains to be seen what further orders the court may make.