Fair Work Australia

[DrA]

Has anybody ever dealt with these guys? Are they actually helpful when it comes to trying to resolve a dispute? Or would I be better off consulting an actual lawyer?

In a nutshell: I was promised by my new employer's HR dept, in writing, reimbursement of relocation expenses. They are now attempting to renege on this, leaving me many, many, many thousands of dollars out of pocket. I would not have accepted the position and uprooted my life if I'd have known that I'd end up so massively out of pocket, as I did have another job offer on the table that didn't require me to move.

 

[Warks]

Has anybody ever dealt with these guys? Are they actually helpful when it comes to trying to resolve a dispute? Or would I be better off consulting an actual lawyer?

In a nutshell: I was promised by my new employer's HR dept, in writing, reimbursement of relocation expenses. They are now attempting to renege on this, leaving me many, many, many thousands of dollars out of pocket. I would not have accepted the position and uprooted my life if I'd have known that I'd end up so massively out of pocket, as I did have another job offer on the table that didn't require me to move.

They do sound rather Orwellian. No experience with them though.

Depending on the size of the company (the bigger the easier) they will generally fold up when hit with anything remotely legal. That is, threatening to get a lawyer probably won't work but getting a lawyer to put together a letter on your behalf would get their attention. The cost of trying to diddle you out of a few thousand then becomes insignificant compared with getting their expensive lawyers involved (probably $800 per hour). I say all this without any legal background but with experience of dealing with big companies from both points of view.

 

[DrA]

They do sound rather Orwellian. No experience with them though.

Depending on the size of the company (the bigger the easier) they will generally fold up when hit with anything remotely legal. That is, threatening to get a lawyer probably won't work but getting a lawyer to put together a letter on your behalf would get their attention. The cost of trying to diddle you out of a few thousand then becomes insignificant compared with getting their expensive lawyers involved (probably $800 per hour). I say all this without any legal background but with experience of dealing with big companies from both points of view.

They have their own legal department already...

I just want to know where I stand at this point.

 

[puppysparkes]

Any services offered by FWA are free which is attractive when compared to a solicitors billable hours. However, you'll need to verify, if the matter remains unresolved; whether you are able to use any information/admissions obtained during their dispute resolution process, can be used in civil proceedings.

 

[Pushka]

I have used them from an employers perspective and they simply provide the facts. So they would be worth a phone call.

 

[Steelo]

It may depend upon the details of the offer to you, was it in writing as part of your letter of offer? If it was just verbal agreement you may need to rethink how you are going about it. In relation to FWA you need to be clear whether you come under an award or if your contract is outside their jurisdiction.

 

[cambriamarsh]

They have their own legal department already...

I just want to know where I stand at this point.

If they've reneged on a written contract you should be able to recover, either through small claims (hopefully) or through the courts if the amount is over the small claims threshold.

Unusual for a big company to pull a stunt like this tho so well worth getting a second objective opinion on the strength of your claim and the amount being claimed.

Good luck.

 

[DrA]

It may depend upon the details of the offer to you, was it in writing as part of your letter of offer? If it was just verbal agreement you may need to rethink how you are going about it. In relation to FWA you need to be clear whether you come under an award or if your contract is outside their jurisdiction.

There are multiple emails from the HR department that clearly state that they would reimburse my relocation expenses when I arrived. It was not verbal, I have the entire email trail to back it up. Basically, as far as I can tell, the HR dept offered me relocation expenses when they shouldn't have, and are now trying to get out of it.

 

[cambriamarsh]

Some companies don't know how to look after their staff, then they wonder why they don't stay. Very poor and unethical behaviour.

Good luck getting it resolved.

 

[Pushka]

I think you will be good then.
One of our employees went to FWA about an issue that she'd agreed to in her contract some 2 years prior. It was about length of notice. She wanted to resign and use her holidays as notice. That was disappointing.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Has anybody ever dealt with these guys? Are they actually helpful when it comes to trying to resolve a dispute? Or would I be better off consulting an actual lawyer?

In a nutshell: I was promised by my new employer's HR dept, in writing, reimbursement of relocation expenses. They are now attempting to renege on this, leaving me many, many, many thousands of dollars out of pocket. I would not have accepted the position and uprooted my life if I'd have known that I'd end up so massively out of pocket, as I did have another job offer on the table that didn't require me to move.

Can't hurt to call them and see if they can assist.

If they can't, this seems like a fairly straight forward contractual issue. The only thing being how the relationship will go forward after you are successful.

 

[DrA]

Straight forward, yet not.

HR stuffed up and are trying to get the dept I'm employed with to cough up the money, even though my dept made it clear to HR from the outset that they would not pay relocation. HR told me relocation would be fully reimbursed because they didn't listen to my dept manager. At the end of the day, they're all faffing about trying to figure out exactly where the money is going to come from because nobody budgeted for it. I don't blame my dept for this, it was a giant stuff up by HR.

Bureaucracy. Fun times.