The Commission has dismissed an application for denial of contractual benefits, where the parties had earlier resolved the matter by a mutual settlement agreement in a separate application brought before the Commission.

Background

The applicant worked for the respondent as an administrative assistant and provisional psychologist  over the course of two years, as both an employee and independent contractor. The applicant brought an unfair dismissal claim under s 29A(1)(a)(i) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA), which was resolved by agreement following a conciliation conference.

The settlement agreement provided that the respondent would pay the applicant $7,500 gross, in addition to superannuation. The parties agreed to ‘transitional arrangements’ to allow the applicant to access her emails and inform her clients of her separation from the respondent. The parties also agreed to a ‘mutual release and a bar to further proceedings arising out of the employment and contracting relationship’. 

Contentions

The applicant brought a separate denial of contractual benefits claim under s 29A(1)(a)(ii) of the Act, and sought to recover ‘backpay still owing’, additional superannuation, as well as wages for work completed during the transitional period following settlement.

Findings

The Commission considered that while the applicant may not have intended to release the respondent from payment for her services in the transitional period, that the wording of the settlement agreement expressly barred all further claims in relation to the employment, which included the transitional period. The Commission reiterated that it is not in the public interest for the matter to proceed where the issues had previously been settled by agreement, particularly where the matter was resolved under the Commission’s dispute resolution processes.

The Commission also noted that after the settlement, the respondent had paid the applicant additional sums that exceeded the applicant’s claim for wages. The Commission found that even if the settlement agreement did not bar further claims, that the applicant had been paid in relation to the performance of services during the transitional period, and that claim was trivial.

The application was dismissed.

The decision can be read here.