Thompson v Armstrong & Royse Pty Ltd

This case concerned an appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The appellant, Andrew George Thompson, had suffered an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment with the respondent, Armstrong and Royse Pty. Ltd., which incapacitated him for work. The dispute centred on whether Thompson was entitled to workers' compensation for a period during which he was also paid wages by his employer for annual leave and public holidays.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether an employee who is incapacitated for work due to an injury is entitled to workers' compensation for a period during which they receive their full wages under an industrial award for annual leave and public holidays. Specifically, the court had to determine if such payments constituted a "payment, allowance, or benefit" that should be taken into account under section 13 of the Workers' Compensation Act 1926-1947 (N.S.W.) when fixing the amount of weekly compensation, and whether the employee could be considered "incapacitated for work" within the meaning of section 9 of the Act if they were receiving full wages.

The High Court was divided in its decision. A majority of the court held that an employee receiving full wages during a period of annual leave or public holidays, even if physically incapacitated by an injury, was not entitled to workers' compensation for that period. This was based on the reasoning that the Act provides compensation for an economic loss, and if the worker's earning capacity is not diminished because they are paid their full wages, there is no compensable incapacity. The court considered that payments for annual leave and holidays, being contractual entitlements for periods of non-work, were to be taken into account under section 13, effectively offsetting any claim for compensation.

As the High Court was equally divided in its opinion, the decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was affirmed, and the appeal was dismissed. This meant that the worker was not entitled to receive both full wages for annual leave and public holidays and workers' compensation for the same period.