Hamling v Australia Meat Holdings Pty Ltd

The Full Federal Court heard an appeal in *Hamling v Australia Meat Holdings Pty Ltd*. The dispute concerned the interpretation of a clause within a collective bargaining agreement, specifically relating to the calculation of redundancy pay. The applicants, employees of Australia Meat Holdings, contended that their redundancy entitlements were to be calculated based on their ordinary weekly wage, which included certain allowances, whereas the respondent employer argued that these allowances should be excluded from the calculation.

The central legal issue before the Full Federal Court was whether the phrase "ordinary weekly wage" as used in the relevant clause of the industrial award encompassed all payments made to the employees, including those described as allowances, or if it was limited to the base wage. This required the Court to consider the nature of the allowances and their relationship to the employees' regular remuneration.

The Court's reasoning focused on the established principles of industrial award interpretation. It was held that the term "ordinary weekly wage" in the context of redundancy pay typically includes all payments that form part of an employee's regular and consistent remuneration, unless specifically excluded by the award. The Court examined the specific allowances in question and determined that they were indeed part of the employees' ordinary earnings, reflecting their regular remuneration rather than being occasional or contingent payments. Consequently, the Court found that the redundancy pay should have been calculated to include these allowances.

The appeal was allowed, and the matter was remitted to the Federal Court for redetermination of the redundancy payments in accordance with the Full Federal Court's interpretation of the award.