Jess v Cooloola Milk Pty Ltd

In *Jess v Cooloola Milk Pty Ltd*, Vasta J of the Federal Court of Australia considered a claim brought by an applicant alleging underpayment as a casual employee. The dispute centred on whether the applicant was correctly classified and paid according to the relevant award, and whether the respondents had contravened provisions of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) concerning record-keeping and adverse action. The applicant contended that the respondents had failed to keep accurate records of hours worked, leading to potential underpayment, and that this failure constituted an exercise of a workplace right.

The court was required to determine whether the First Respondent had breached section 535 of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) by failing to keep proper records of employee entitlements. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the Second Respondent was accessorily liable for any contravention under section 550 of the Act, and whether the applicant had been subjected to adverse action due to the exercise of a workplace right. Finally, the court needed to decide whether to issue declarations and impose pecuniary penalties for any proven contraventions.

Vasta J found that the First Respondent had indeed breached section 535 of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) by failing to maintain adequate records. While acknowledging that the employer's actions were not intended to detrimentally affect the employee and that the employee had, in fact, been generously compensated, the court emphasised the importance of legislative compliance for maintaining balance in the workplace. Consequently, a declaration was made that the First Respondent had contravened the Act. The court also found the Second Respondent accessorily liable under section 550, having procured the contravention through decisions regarding payment and record-keeping. Despite the contraventions, Vasta J decided not to impose pecuniary penalties, reasoning that the record-keeping breach did not truly affect the applicant and that a declaration served as sufficient denunciation of the behaviour.