Key Points
- Qantas has been found to have unlawfully outsourced the jobs of almost 1,700 workers during the pandemic.
- Justice Michael Lee ordered Qantas to pay a combined total of $170,000 based on three test cases.
- Those initial payouts will inform mediation over how much will be paid to the remainder of the sacked workers.
Qantas' suggestion that almost 1,700 workers it unlawfully sacked during the COVID-19 pandemic should receive no payout has been dismissed by the High Court, as it gave an indication of the amount of compensation the airline will need to pay.
Handing down penalties to Qantas based on three test cases on Monday, Justice Michael Lee ordered it to pay a combined total of $170,000.
Having calculated the non-economic loss for those particular workers, he ruled compensation amounts of $30,000, $40,000, and $100,000.
Qantas and the representatives of the group of workers must now use the initial payouts and related scenarios to negotiate the compensation for the remaining sacked workers for non-economic loss.
The economic loss is expected to be calculated based on the finding that Qantas would have otherwise outsourced these workers by the end of 2021.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) estimates Qantas will have to pay at least $100 million in compensation to unlawfully sacked workers.
In September 2023, a High Court ruled Qantas' decision to outsource their jobs during the pandemic was illegal.
While Qantas appealed the finding, it was upheld.
Qantas apologises to former employees
Qantas has said it accepts the Federal Court's ruling on compensation and will work to expedite payments.
In a statement, the airline's chief executive officer, Vanessa Hudson, said: "We sincerely apologise to our former employees who were impacted by this decision, and we know that the onus is on Qantas to learn from this."
"We recognise the emotional and financial impact this has had on these people and their families. We hope that this provides closure to those who have been affected."
'Day of justice'
On Monday, when delivering those initial compensation amounts, Justice Lee noted it was impossible to say Qantas would not have outsourced the workers' jobs at some point during the pandemic, given its financial situation.
and had an unprecedented impact on the aviation sector.
TWU national assistant secretary Nick McIntosh described the penalties of up to $100,000 as "unprecedented".
Former Qantas worker Don Dixon celebrated the court's order for the airline to compensate sacked workers like him. Source: AAP / /
"Today is finally the day of justice after more than four years."
He said the loss of jobs and income led to the breakdown of marriages and loss of homes.
"The federal court has today sent a powerful message to corporate Australia that if you act in this way, you will be ordered to compensate people for the hardship and distress you cause," he said.
Don Dixon, who was among those Qantas workers who were illegally sacked, welcomed the court-ordered compensation.
"This is the spirit of Australia," he said.
