Redundancy in the Australian Public Service: Some Critical Reflections

This article critically examines the law concerning dismissal on grounds of redundancy as it applies to the Australian Public Service ('APS'). Such an examination is timely, given the newly elected Coalition government's stated intention to reduce the APS by 12 000 employees through natural attrition. The article argues that a reduction of 12 000 employees through natural attrition alone is unlikely, and that redundancies are almost inevitable. Against this backdrop, the article considers recent legislative developments concerning dismissal on grounds of redundancy. Its focus is the genuine redundancy exclusion contained in s 389 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ('FW Act') and its application to APS employment. The genuine redundancy exclusion precludes unfair dismissal claims if the redundancy is genuine, the employer complies with any consultation obligations in a modern award or enterprise agreement and it would not have been reasonable in all the circumstances to redeploy the affected employee within the employer's enterprise or that of an associated entity. The article argues that, prior to the FW Act, redundancy obligations were predominantly dealt with in collective agreements, and did not require consultations or redeployment of redundant employees beyond the individual agency. However the FW Act fundamentally changed the law in this area. The article contends that a failure to comply with consultation obligations in an agency enterprise agreement will increase the prospects of a dismissal being found to be unfair. In the APS this is problematic, given the convoluted nature of many consultation clauses in enterprise agreements. The article also argues that the redeployment obligations in s 389(2) are extremely broad and, contrary to past practice under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth) ('PS Act'), encompass redeployment across the APS. The obligation to redeploy across the APS creates tensions in the law between the provisions of the FW Act and the devolution of managerial powers under the PS Act. The article concludes by calling for reform of the law which would address these tensions. It is submitted that any reforms should first clarify whether, as a matter of policy, the Commonwealth wishes to permit redeployment across the APS, or confine it to the level of each individual agency. Options for reform are suggested which would achieve either policy outcome

Solving Manpower Act’s Legal Redundancy Through Job Creation Act’s Foreign Manpower Utilization Plan

This research discusses the impact of Job Creation Act towards foreign workers in Indonesia. Act 11 of 2020 titled Job Creation Act has been legislated and enacted on November 2nd 2020. It also regulated manpower in Indonesia, including foreign workers in Indonesia. In the latest regulation, foreign workers are now only required to get their foreign manpower utilization plan approved. Unlike Act 13 of 2003 regarding Manpower Act, foreign employers are not required to gain foreign worker permit for their foreign worker. This research is conducted as normative research using statute and conceptual approach. The result showed that Job Creation Act had managed to solve legal redundancy between foreign worker permit and foreign manpower utilization plan. Job Creation Act stresses Presidential Act 20 of 2018 regarding Foreign Worker Utilization that foreign manpower utilization plan also act as foreign worker permit. To conclude, the regulation of foreign worker utilization in Job Creation Act had managed to solve legal redundancy in Manpower Act and support Indonesian Democratic Econom

Most \u3cem\u3eCaenorhabditis elegans\u3c/em\u3e MicroRNAs are Individually Not Essential for Development or Viability

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a large class of short noncoding RNAs found in many plants and animals, often act to post-transcriptionally inhibit gene expression. We report the generation of deletion mutations in 87 miRNA genes in Caenorhabditis elegans, expanding the number of mutated miRNA genes to 95, or 83% of known C. elegans miRNAs. We find that the majority of miRNAs are not essential for the viability or development of C. elegans, and mutations in most miRNA genes do not result in grossly abnormal phenotypes. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that there is significant functional redundancy among miRNAs or among gene pathways regulated by miRNAs. This study represents the first comprehensive genetic analysis of miRNA function in any organism and provides a unique, permanent resource for the systematic study of miRNAs

Facilitating and Regulating Employment

This article considers the extent to which Sir Ivor Richardson's Court of Appeal has sought to provide consistency, certainty, and predictability in the development of New Zealand's law regarding redundancy. The author explores important Employment Court and Court of Appeal decisions starting from the employee-friendly Hale case in 1990. The development of redundancy law is then explored through the Brighouse case (which seemingly affirmed Hale), the Davidson saga, and the more employer-friendly Aoraki case (which overruled Brighouse). The article then discusses the future implications of the then-new Employment Relations Act 2000. The result of these developments mean that employees will generally have the right to insist on fair treatment. At the same time, well-advised employers may feel confident that if they follow a considerate process in implementing a redundancy decision, they will not be at risk of having their decisions second-guessed

Mouse genetics identifies unique and overlapping functions of fibroblast growth factor receptors in keratinocytes

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are key regulators of tissue development, homeostasis and repair, and abnormal FGF signalling is associated with various human diseases. In human and murine epidermis, FGF receptor 3 (FGFR3) activation causes benign skin tumours, but the consequences of FGFR3 deficiency in this tissue have not been determined. Here, we show that FGFR3 in keratinocytes is dispensable for mouse skin development, homeostasis and wound repair. However, the defect in the epidermal barrier and the resulting inflammatory skin disease that develops in mice lacking FGFR1 and FGFR2 in keratinocytes were further aggravated upon additional loss of FGFR3. This caused fibroblast activation and fibrosis in the FGFR1/FGFR2 double-knockout mice and even more in mice lacking all three FGFRs, revealing functional redundancy of FGFR3 with FGFR1 and FGFR2 for maintaining the epidermal barrier. Taken together, our study demonstrates that FGFR1, FGFR2 and FGFR3 act together to maintain epidermal integrity and cutaneous homeostasis, with FGFR2 being the dominant receptor

One Young Dog

Autobiography and redundancy are natural associates. Keeping them apart in the act of recalling a life, any life, is no easy task. Given the assignment of imagining my autobiography and writing one of the chapters, I wanted to avoid repeating myself. Tell me a story. It does not matter that I have lived it before. Telling it again becomes a new act,another page of the story. Tell me a story, Jane Oberg asked. I thank her for the question

Frida Kabaso (Sued as Country Director of Voluntary Services Overseas Zambia) v. Davies Tembo SCZ Appeal No. 04/2012

This action concerned an appeal from the Industrial Relations Court where an employee was employed on a permanent contract by Voluntary Services Overseas Zambia as an Administrative Officer on 11th July 1996. He was later promoted to the position of Officer Manager. In 2001/2002, the employer changed its employment policy from employing staff on permanent terms to employing them on fixed-term contract. By 2008, the employer begun restructuring and informed employees. The employee’s position of Officer Manager was phased out and removed from the employer’s organisational structure, with two positions created, including that of Finance Manager. The employee claimed a redundancy package as he considered himself redundant. The employer declined to give him the redundancy package but offered him the position of Finance Manager in the restructured entity. The employee was initially reluctant to take up the position as he felt he was not qualified for the position, and he feared that the employer would use any poor performance on his part to dismiss him at a later stage. Despite his concerns, he accepted the new position. He was subsequently subject to various disciplinary issues and resigned. He commenced an action claiming a redundancy package, calculated at three (3) months’ pay for each year worked. The Industrial Relations Court held that while there cannot be a redundancy where an employee is offered alternative employment, in this case the employee was not offered suitable alternative employment and only took up the position due to his employer’s coercion. The court ordered the payment of a redundancy package but declined to award damages for mental distress and anguish. The Supreme Court confirmed that the provisions on redundancy and the (now repealed) Employment Act situated in section 26B do not apply to employees on written contracts. The court guided that for those on written contracts, redundancy only applied if the contract provided, which it did in this case. The fact that the Industrial Relations Court did not consider the provision on redundancy in the contract was a misdirection, according to the Supreme Court