Riverwood International Australia Pty Ltd v McCormick

In the case of Riverwood International Australia Pty Ltd v McCormick, the respondent, Mr McCormick, sought a redundancy payment after being dismissed from his employment with the appellant, Riverwood International Australia Pty Ltd. The primary judge ruled in Mr McCormick's favour on two alternative bases: the express terms of the employment contract imported the terms of a redundancy agreement negotiated between Riverwood and the Printing and Kindred Industries Union, or it was an implied term of the employment contract that Mr McCormick had an entitlement to a redundancy payment according to that redundancy agreement. The case raises the legal issues of whether the terms of the redundancy agreement were incorporated into Mr McCormick's contract of employment by reference or by implication. The Court of Appeal found that neither of these grounds could be supported. The Court emphasised the importance of considering the context of the letter in which the terms of the redundancy agreement were mentioned and concluded that the term in question did not form part of Mr McCormick's contract of employment. The Court further noted that the silence of the human resources manager at a meeting with Mr McCormick did not constitute misleading or deceptive conduct. As a result, the appeal was dismissed, and Riverwood International Australia Pty Ltd was ordered to pay Mr McCormick's costs of the appeal.