Mr McDonnell employed by the Respondents from September 1999 until his dismissal on 3 September 2013.
The Respondent refused to participate in the conciliation process, and instead lodged a Jurisdictional Objection, claiming that Mr McDonnell was not covered by the unfair dismissal provisions as his salary exceeded the high income threshold of $123,300, and he was not covered by a modern award or enterprise bargaining agreement.
The hearing was conducted on January 18 2013 before Senior Deputy President Watson. The crux of the argument relied upon the value that could be associated with his use of a company car. The Respondents claimed that his use of the car put him over the threshold limit. AWNA successfully argued against this submission. On 6 February 2013 it was found by Senior Deputy President Watson that Mr McDonnell’s income was in fact $123,185 (just $125 shy of the high income threshold), therefore he was protected from unfair dismissal.
Mr McDonnell’s unfair dismissal application is now proceeding to a hearing as to the merits of the claim.
Source: https://www.fwc.gov.au/decisionssigned/html/2013fwc702.htm
