Topic
9 articles from our Tips & Trends archive.
A recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court Commissioner of Taxation v Baya Casal [2026] FCAFC 11 (20 February 2026) has sharpened what employers must examine when deciding whether a redundancy payment is a tax-free “genuine redundancy payment” or a taxable employment termination payment (ETP).
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No. But it is still a matter that employers will need to show they considered and were unable to reasonably implement. The High Court Helensburgh Coal Pty Ltd v Bartley [2025] HCA 29 found that, when considering a ‘genuine redundancy’, FWC can consider, amongst the range of factors, whether there is a genuine redundancy or whether it would have been reasonable to redeploy an employee to a role otherwise performed by a contractor.
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Yes. Provided the skills are objectively necessary for the operational requirements of the business.
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The FWC recently (Samuel Shilson-Josling v Atomic Search Pty Ltd [2024] FWC 3255 (25 October 2024) held that employees are not immune from redundancy while on leave or under flexible working arrangements provided operational issues necessitate it and the redundancy is genuine.
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FWC recently (decision click here) ordered compensation for a failure in consultation after the employer told the employee they were redundant months after deciding to restructure their team.
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The Full Federal Court (Helensburgh Coal Pty Ltd v Bartley [2024] FCAFC 45) has recently found that employers have an obligation to assess whether employees in a redundancy situation could replace already engaged contractors (not other employees) before making them redundant.
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FWC has confirmed the long held understanding that failing to meet reasonable KPIs will be a valid reason for dismissal but unreasonable KPIs will be unfair.
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No employer looks forward to a redundancy process – but it is crucial to take the time to step through the process properly, without taking any administrative ‘shortcuts’ to get the process over and done with. Shortcuts and poor communication are often what leads to the risk of claims.
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In a recent Fair Work Commission (FWC) decision (Steve Petkovski v M J Luff Pty Ltd T/A Border Express [2021] FWC 5936), the FWC found that a termination letter was sent to an employee’s defunct email address did not constitute a reasonable means of communicating the dismissal. Instead, the dismissal was effective 5 days later when the termination letter was received by registered post.
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