Szanto v ISS Facility Services Pty Ltd

The Fair Work Commission considered an application by an employee, Szanto, against ISS Facility Services Pty Ltd regarding entitlement to redundancy pay under the National Employment Standards. The applicant alleged that they were made redundant under the Fair Work Act 2009. The employer argued that the applicant was not made redundant as they had been offered other acceptable employment. The Commission was required to determine whether the applicant was genuinely made redundant and, if so, whether the employer had complied with the redundancy pay obligations.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the applicant was genuinely made redundant, as defined by section 119 of the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the Commission had to ascertain whether the employer had followed the correct dispute resolution process regarding the redundancy circumstances, as outlined in section 120. The applicant argued that the employer had not followed the appropriate dispute resolution procedure and that they were entitled to redundancy pay. The employer contended that the applicant had been offered other employment, which was acceptable, and thus, there was no obligation to pay redundancy.

The Commission assessed the evidence and found that the applicant was indeed made redundant. However, the employer had offered the applicant other employment that met the criteria for being considered acceptable. Consequently, the employer was not obligated to pay redundancy pay to the applicant. The Commission concluded that the employer had not breached the dispute resolution process and that the applicant's claim for redundancy pay was not substantiated. The decision was based on the premise that the applicant had been offered other employment that complied with the standards set out in the Act.

The Fair Work Commission dismissed the applicant's claim for redundancy pay. The Commission determined that the applicant was made redundant but that the employer had fulfilled their obligations by offering other acceptable employment. The Commission found no fault in the employer's handling of the dispute resolution process. The final order was that the applicant's claim for redundancy pay was dismissed, and no further action was required by the employer.