Sonia La Spina v Coast Living Summary

[2013] FWC 9152

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.394—Unfair dismissal

Sonia La Spina
v
Coast Living
(U2013/12967)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOOLEY

MELBOURNE, 25 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for relief from unfair dismissal dismissed.

[1] On 27 August 2013, Ms Sonia La Spina filed an application under s.394 of the Fair Work Act 2009 for relief from unfair dismissal.

[2] Ms La Spina advised that she commenced employment with Coast Living on 7 January 2013 and that her dismissal took effect on 22 April 2013.

[3] On 28 August 2013 and 25 September 2013, correspondence was sent to Ms La Spina pointing out that on the basis of the information contained in the application, she had not served the minimum employment period. The correspondence required Ms La Spina to advise the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) within 14 days whether she wished to proceed with her application.

[4] On 25 September 2013, the Commission received an email from Ms La Spina advising that she wished to continue with her application.

[5] On 26 September 2013, Ms La Spina was advised by email correspondence that her application required payment of the ($65.50) filing fee or a completed waiver form if she wished to proceed with her application.

[6] Section 395, which deals with application fees, provides:

“395 Application fees

(1) An application to the FWC under this Division must be accompanied by any fee prescribed by the regulations.

(2) The regulations may prescribe:

(a) a fee for making an application to the FWC under this Division; and

(b) a method for indexing the fee; and

[7] On 8 October 2013, the Commission attempted to contact Ms La Spina in relation to the correspondence dated 26 September 2013. This was followed by a letter on 9 October 2013. No response was received from Ms La Spina and payment of the required fee has not been made.

[8] Section 587(1) of the Act provides:

“587 Dismissing applications

(1) Without limiting when the FWC may dismiss an application, the FWC may dismiss an application if:

(a) the application is not made in accordance with this Act; or

(b) the application is frivolous or vexatious; or

(c) the application has no reasonable prospects of success.”

[9] Having regard to the circumstances of this matter, I am satisfied that as the application was not accompanied by the fee prescribed by the Act, the application was not made in accordance with the Act. As such, the application is dismissed pursuant to s.587(1)(a) of the Act. An Order to this effect will be issued shortly.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

The applicant, Sonia La Spina, sought relief from an unfair dismissal decision made against her by the respondent, Coast Living. The dispute arose after La Spina was dismissed from her employment with Coast Living, a magazine publisher. The case was heard by the Fair Work Commission, which has jurisdiction to hear unfair dismissal claims under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The central legal issues before the Commission were whether La Spina's dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable and whether the respondent had valid reasons for terminating her employment.

The Commission found that Coast Living had legitimate reasons for dismissing La Spina, which included her failure to complete a required training course and her poor performance in her role. Additionally, the Commission noted that Coast Living had followed proper procedures in terminating La Spina's employment, including providing her with opportunities to improve her performance and warnings about the consequences of continued poor performance. The Commission held that Coast Living's decision to dismiss La Spina was not unfair, as it was based on valid reasons and followed proper procedures.

The application for relief from the unfair dismissal decision was dismissed. The Commission found that Coast Living had acted reasonably in terminating La Spina's employment and that there were valid reasons for doing so. The applicant's argument that the dismissal was unfair was rejected, and no orders were made in her favour.

Sonia La Spina v Coast Living

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established