Morrison Government Seeks to Appeal Personal Leave Decision
The Morrison Government has announced that it will seek leave in the High Court to appeal the Full Federal Court decision in Mondelez v AMWU & Ors, which dealt with how personal/carer’s leave should be calculated under the Fair Work Act.
UPDATE: On 13 December 2019, the High Court granted both the Morrison Government & the employer, Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd, special leave to appeal the Federal Court decision.
Read our analysis of the fallout from Mondelez here.
Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter said the decision needed to be appealed because it resulted in significant inequities between employees, while exposing employers to additional costs of up to $2 billion per year:
“Labor was repeatedly warned by business and industry groups when it drafted the Fair Work Act that the change to its definition might one day be interpreted this way,” Mr Porter said.
“But Labor reassured them that the status quo would be maintained, along with the fair and equitable situation that ensured employees who worked the same total number of hours each week would get the same amount of accrued leave.
“The Government believes that Australian employers and, potentially, Australian taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for Labor’s mistake, which is why it is necessary to seek to clarify the situation by mounting an appeal.”