The Case

Secretary, Attorney-General’s Department v Warren (2022)

A mining company employed Mr Warren on a casual basis. When his employer became insolvent, Mr Warren sought payment of his unpaid annual leave and redundancy pay under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) Scheme.

An examination of the Black Coal Mining Industry Award 2010 revealed that Mr Warren could not be employed on a casual basis. As such, as a full-time or part-time employee, he was entitled to annual leave and redundancy pay. However, the Attorney-General argued that Mr Warren had already been paid a casual loading of 25% to compensate him for these entitlements. This meant that paying Mr Warren compensation under the FEG Scheme for annual leave and redundancy pay would result in him being compensated twice.