Hill v St Anthony's Tennis Club

The matter before the court involved a dispute between Mr Hill, an independent contractor, and St Anthony’s Tennis Club, the principal with whom Mr Hill had a contractual relationship. Mr Hill claimed that the principal had taken adverse action against him by terminating their contract because an employee of Mr Hill had applied to the Fair Work Commission with a complaint that the principal had bullied him. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission of Australia.

The primary legal issues were whether the employee of Mr Hill had exercised a workplace right by applying to the Fair Work Commission and whether the principal had discharged the burden of proving that it did not terminate the contract with Mr Hill for the reason or for reasons that included as a substantial and operative factor the employee's application to the Fair Work Commission. The court also needed to determine whether Mr Hill had proved that he suffered loss as a result of the principal’s termination of the contract.

The Fair Work Commission found that the employee of Mr Hill had exercised a workplace right by applying to the Fair Work Commission. However, the principal did not discharge the burden of proving that it did not terminate the contract with Mr Hill for the reason or for reasons that included as a substantial and operative factor the employee's application to the Fair Work Commission. The court also found that Mr Hill had not proved that he suffered loss as a result of the principal’s termination of the contract. Consequently, the court made a declaration that the principal had taken adverse action against Mr Hill and listed the matter for directions on the question of penalty.