Queensland Nurses’ Union of Employees v Australian Red Cross Society and Ors (No.2)

The Queensland Nurses’ Union of Employees (QNUE) brought proceedings against the Australian Red Cross Society and others concerning the interpretation and application of a workplace determination. The dispute centred on whether the Red Cross was entitled to deduct from the wages of its employees, who were members of the QNUE, the amount of any payment made by the Red Cross to those employees under a specific clause of the determination, which related to the provision of a uniform allowance. The matter came before Vasta J of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Red Cross was legally permitted to offset the uniform allowance paid to its employees against their ordinary wages, effectively reducing their overall remuneration. This required an examination of the relevant provisions of the workplace determination, particularly clause 10.3, and an assessment of whether this clause permitted such a deduction or if it was inconsistent with the overarching principles of wage payment and the intention of the determination.

Vasta J reasoned that clause 10.3 of the determination stipulated that the uniform allowance was to be paid in addition to ordinary wages. The Court found that the Red Cross's attempt to deduct this allowance from the employees' wages was contrary to the plain language and intent of the determination. The judge held that the allowance was a separate entitlement designed to compensate employees for specific expenses, and it was not intended to be absorbed into or offset against their base wage. Consequently, the Red Cross's practice was deemed to be a breach of the determination.

The Court ordered that the Australian Red Cross Society pay to the Queensland Nurses’ Union of Employees, for and on behalf of the affected employees, the amounts that had been unlawfully deducted from their wages, together with interest.