Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FAIR WORK ACT 2009 - SECT 392

Compensation

  (1)   An order for the payment of compensation to a person must be an order that the person's employer at the time of the dismissal pay compensation to the person in lieu of reinstatement.

Criteria for deciding amounts

  (2)   In determining an amount for the purposes of an order under subsection   (1), the FWC must take into account all the circumstances of the case including:

  (a)   the effect of the order on the viability of the employer's enterprise; and

  (b)   the length of the person's service with the employer; and

  (c)   the remuneration that the person would have received, or would have been likely to receive, if the person had not been dismissed; and

  (d)   the efforts of the person (if any) to mitigate the loss suffered by the person because of the dismissal; and

  (e)   the amount of any remuneration earned by the person from employment or other work during the period between the dismissal and the making of the order for compensation; and

  (f)   the amount of any income reasonably likely to be so earned by the person during the period between the making of the order for compensation and the actual compensation; and

  (g)   any other matter that the FWC considers relevant.

Misconduct reduces amount

  (3)   If the FWC is satisfied that misconduct of a person contributed to the employer's decision to dismiss the person, the FWC must reduce the amount it would otherwise order under subsection   (1) by an appropriate amount on account of the misconduct.

Shock, distress etc. disregarded

  (4)   The amount ordered by the FWC to be paid to a person under subsection   (1) must not include a component by way of compensation for shock, distress or humiliation, or other analogous hurt, caused to the person by the manner of the person's dismissal.

Compensation cap

  (5)   The amount ordered by the FWC to be paid to a person under subsection   (1) must not exceed the lesser of:

  (a)   the amount worked out under subsection   (6); and

  (b)   half the amount of the high income threshold immediately before the dismissal.

  (6)   The amount is the total of the following amounts:

  (a)   the total amount of remuneration:

  (i)   received by the person; or

  (ii)   to which the person was entitled;

    (whichever is higher) for any period of employment with the employer during the 26 weeks immediately before the dismissal; and

  (b)   if the employee was on leave without pay or without full pay while so employed during any part of that period--the amount of remuneration taken to have been received by the employee for the period of leave in accordance with the regulations.