Sophie White v Xtremecare

Case [2023] FWC 283


[2023] FWC 283

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.394—Unfair dismissal

Sophie White
v

Xtremecare

(U2022/11719)

VICE PRESIDENT CATANZARITI

SYDNEY, 2 FEBRUARY 2023

Application for an unfair dismissal remedy.

  1. Sophie White (the applicant) was employed by Xtremecare (the respondent) from the 8th of November 2021 until she was dismissed on the 24th of November 2022.

  1. On the 10th of December 2022, the applicant made an application for a remedy for unfair dismissal under s.394 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

  2. The legal business name nominated by the respondent in their F3 – Employer’s Response Form in this matter was Xtremecare Australia Healthcare Services Pty Ltd.

  3. On the 17th of January 2023, correspondence was sent to the applicant in relation to the legal business name discrepancy and she was required to respond by the 24th of January 2023. No response was received at this time.

  4. Further correspondence was sent to the applicant on the 25th of January 2023 and she was required to respond by the 5:00pm 30th of January 2023. It was in this correspondence that the applicant was advised her application would be dismissed without any notice if no response was received.

  5. To date, the applicant has not responded to any of the correspondence sent by my Chambers.

  1. Section 587 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.

(2) Despite paragraphs (1)(b) and (c), FWC must not dismiss an application under section 365 or 773 on the ground that the application:

(a) is frivolous or vexatious; or

(b) has no reasonable prospects of success.

(3) FWC may dismiss an application:

(a) on its own initiative; or

(b) on application.

  1. The words, “Without limiting when FWC may dismiss an application” at the commencement of s.587(1) of the Act, establish that the jurisdiction of the Commission to dismiss an application is not limited to the circumstances set out in s.587(1)(a), (b) and (c).

  1. In the circumstances I have decided to dismiss the application for want of prosecution pursuant to s.587(3)(a) of the Act.

  1. An order to that effect will issue with this decision.

VICE PRESIDENT

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Details
AGLC
Sophie White v Xtremecare [2023] FWC 283
Case
[2023] FWC 283
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Sophie White applied for an unfair dismissal remedy against her former employer, Xtremecare, under section 394 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Sophie White was employed by Xtremecare from 8 November 2021 until her dismissal on 24 November 2022. Sophie White submitted her application for unfair dismissal on 10 December 2022. The respondent was identified as Xtremecare Australia Healthcare Services Pty Ltd in its F3 – Employer’s Response Form. The Commission sent correspondence to Sophie White on 17 and 25 January 2023 to address a discrepancy in the legal business name. The Commission gave Sophie White until 24 January 2023 and 5:00pm 30 January 2023 to respond to the correspondence. The Commission advised Sophie White in the 25 January 2023 correspondence that her application would be dismissed without notice if she did not respond. Sophie White did not respond to the Commission’s correspondence.

The legal issue for the Commission to determine was whether it had the jurisdiction to dismiss Sophie White’s application for want of prosecution. The Commission found that section 587(1) of the Act provided it with the jurisdiction to dismiss an application “without limiting when the FWC may dismiss an application.” The Commission found that the circumstances of this case warranted dismissal of Sophie White’s application for want of prosecution.

The Commission dismissed Sophie White’s application for unfair dismissal. The Commission found that it had the jurisdiction to dismiss the application for want of prosecution under section 587(3)(a) of the Act. The Commission found that it was appropriate to dismiss the application in the circumstances. An order to that effect will issue with this decision.

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