Sinisa Krstic v Electricity Networks Corporation t/a Western Power

Sinisa Krstic brought a claim against his employer, Electricity Networks Corporation trading as Western Power, in the Fair Work Commission. Mr Krstic sought clarification of his entitlement to redundancy under the applicable enterprise agreement. He claimed he was owed redundancy benefits due to his dismissal and the fact that the employer had not offered him an alternative role. The employer argued that it had offered him a position within the organisation that constituted an alternative role. The Commission was required to determine whether Mr Krstic was owed redundancy benefits under the terms of the enterprise agreement and whether the employer had offered an alternative role to Mr Krstic.

The central issue was the meaning of the term ‘alternative role’ within the enterprise agreement. Mr Krstic argued that the employer had not offered him an alternative role and therefore, he was entitled to redundancy benefits. The employer claimed that it had offered a position to Mr Krstic that met the definition of an alternative role. The Commission was required to determine what constituted an ‘alternative role’ in the context of the enterprise agreement and whether the employer’s offer met this definition.

The Commission found that the employer had indeed offered an alternative role to Mr Krstic, as the role offered was within the organisation and met the definition of an alternative role under the enterprise agreement. The Commission found that Mr Krstic had been offered a position that was suitable and available to him, and therefore, he was not entitled to redundancy benefits. The Commission dismissed the claim, finding that the employer had not breached the enterprise agreement.

The Commission ordered that the claim be dismissed and that costs be awarded to the respondent.