Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association v Haridemos (No 2)

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) brought proceedings against Mr. Haridemos, a former employee of a company that had been subject to an enterprise agreement negotiated by the SDA. The dispute concerned the SDA's claim that Mr. Haridemos had engaged in conduct that contravened the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) by allegedly making false or misleading representations to employees regarding their rights and entitlements under the enterprise agreement, and by allegedly inducing employees to contravene the agreement. The proceedings were heard in the Federal Court of Australia by Manousaridis J.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether Mr. Haridemos had made false or misleading representations to employees concerning their entitlements under the enterprise agreement, and whether he had induced or attempted to induce employees to contravene the agreement. These questions required the Court to consider the nature of the representations made, their truthfulness or misleading nature in the context of the enterprise agreement, and the causal link between Mr. Haridemos's conduct and any contraventions or attempted contraventions by employees.

Manousaridis J found that the SDA had failed to establish that Mr. Haridemos had made false or misleading representations to employees regarding their entitlements under the enterprise agreement. The Court also found that the SDA had not proven that Mr. Haridemos had induced or attempted to induce employees to contravene the agreement. The reasoning involved a careful examination of the evidence presented, including the specific statements attributed to Mr. Haridemos and the context in which they were made, in light of the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The Court applied principles of statutory interpretation and the onus of proof in civil proceedings.

The Court ordered that the application by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association be dismissed.