Details  Created: 03 March 2020

The Commission has dismissed a claim for denied contractual benefits as it found that the claim did not concern a benefit of an employment contract and the failure to provide that benefit.

The applicant argued that the respondent had breached their contract by reducing the applicant’s annual salary by $5,000. The applicant then terminated the contract, stating that he did so due to the breach.

At the hearing, the applicant submitted a different claim for $68,750, arguing that this would have been the amount received under contract for 12 months as he would have continued employment had the respondent not unilaterally reduced his salary.

The respondent refuted the applicant’s claim and sought that the application be dismissed as the applicant had not identified a benefit under a contract of employment that has been denied.

Commissioner Walkington found that the applicant’s assertion that the contract ‘would have’ continued for a further 12 months was not supported by any evidence. Further, Walkington C found that the applicant had not established that either his initial claim of $5,000 or his revised claim for $68,750 were entitlements under a contract of employment.

Walkington C concluded that the applicant’s claim concerns the fairness of his termination and does not concern a benefit of an employment contract and the failure to provide that benefit.

The application was dismissed on the basis that there was no real question of fact or law to be determined.

The decision can be read here.