Western Australian Repealed Acts

This legislation has been repealed.

WORKPLACE AGREEMENTS ACT 1993 - SECT 70

70 .         Dismissal etc. because of refusal to enter into agreement

        (1)         An employer must not —

            (a)         dismiss an employee from his or her employment; or

            (b)         alter the employee’s position in his or her employment to his or her disadvantage; or

            (c)         refuse to promote the employee in his or her employment; or

            (d)         otherwise injure the employee in his or her employment,

                when the reason for doing so is that the employee refused to enter into —

            (e)         an agreement under this Act; or

            (f)         an agreement under this Act that contains or does not contain particular provisions.

        (2)         If an employer is convicted of an offence against subsection (1) in relation to a person who is or was an employee, the industrial magistrate’s court by which the employer was convicted may order the employer —

            (a)         to re-instate the person if he or she was dismissed from employment; or

            (b)         subject to subsection (3), to pay to the person compensation for any loss or injury suffered as a result of the commission of the offence; or

            (c)         to do both of those things,

                but the person is not entitled to compensation both under this section and otherwise for the same dismissal, loss or injury.

        (3)         An industrial magistrate’s court does not have jurisdiction under subsection (2) to order that there be paid —

            (a)         to an employee who has been dismissed, any amount exceeding 6 months’ loss of earnings of the employee; and

            (b)         in any other case, any amount exceeding $5 000 or such other amount as is prescribed by the regulations.

        (4)         For the purposes of subsection (3)(a) the court may calculate the amount on the basis of an average rate received during any relevant period of employment.

        (5)         Where in any proceedings for an offence against subsection (1) it is proved that an employer took any course of action mentioned in that subsection against or in relation to an employee after the employee refused to enter into —

            (a)         an agreement under this Act; or

            (b)         an agreement under this Act that contains or does not contain particular provisions,

                it is for the employer to prove that he or she took that course of action for some reason other than because the employee refused to enter into any such agreement.