O'Farrell and Secretary, Department of Employment

The applicants sought a review of the Fair Entitlement Guarantee (FEG) assessments made by the Secretary, Department of Employment, concerning their wages entitlements. The dispute centred on the determination of the "wages entitlement period" under the FEG Act and the calculation of their wages entitlement. The matter was heard by Deputy J W Constance P.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine the precise date on which the applicants' employment ended for the purposes of the FEG Act. This determination was crucial for calculating the maximum 13-week period for which FEG advances could be paid. The applicants contended that their employment ended on 20 November 2013, when their employer was locked out of its premises and effectively ceased business operations, leaving them with no workplace or work to perform.

The court interpreted the phrase "the time the person's employment ended" within the context of the FEG Act's objects, which include providing advances for unpaid employment entitlements of former employees of insolvent employers. The court reasoned that the Act is intended to guarantee employees payment of entitlements they would have received had the company not become insolvent, up to a maximum of 13 weeks. Considering the inclusion of "work done" and "paid leave taken" in the definition of "wages entitlement," the court inferred that "the time the person's employment ended" was intended to refer to the end of the last period of productive work, rather than the formal termination of the contract of employment. The court applied the principle that beneficial and remedial legislation should be given a liberal interpretation, a fair, large, and liberal interpretation rather than a literal or technical one.

In conclusion, the court set aside the decisions under review in each matter and remitted them to the Secretary, Department of Employment, for reconsideration in accordance with the court's reasons. The parties agreed that entitlement to benefits accrued until the end of the employment relationship, a position the court found to be correct.