Posts: other acceptable employment

An employer may apply to the Fair Work Commission to have an employee’s redundancy pay reduced to a specified amount (which may be nil) in circumstances where it has obtained “other acceptable employment” for the employee.

When considering the financial impact of redundancies, employers should be mindful of the operation of s 120 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), which allows an employer to apply to the Fair Work Commission to reduce the amount of redundancy pay it is obligated to pay redundant employees in certain circumstances.

In the event that an employee’s position is made redundant, employers have an obligation to consider opportunities for redeployment. Where an employer has secured “other acceptable employment” for an employee, they may be able to apply to the Fair Work Commission to reduce the amount of redundancy pay owed if the employee refuses to accept redeployment.

The entitlement to redundancy pay under the National Employment Standards of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) is one which is intended to minimise the adverse impact of a redundancy on affected employees, such as loss of job security and the potential difficulties associated with obtaining new employment in the open market.