SEVERANCE PAY – AUSTRALIA

Qantas accused of pilot underpay

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 7 : 19-Oct-21

Former Qantas pilot Captain Andrew Hewitt has taken the airline to the Federal Court over what he contends is a shortfall in his termination payout. Hewitt, who is the son of former Qantas chairman Sir Lenox Hewitt, was among a number of pilots who were offered early retirement and redundancy packages when it stopped international flights because of the pandemic. Hewitt alleges that Qantas ‘shortchanged’ him by more than $92,000; a spokesman for Qantas says it intends to defend the claim being made against it by Hewitt.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Rio was legally cramped to go harder on execs

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 12-Apr-21

Rio Tinto has attracted much criticism over its generous severance packages in the wake of the Juukan Gorge scandal. However, the head of Rio Tinto’s remuneration committee has told the annual general meeting in London that the board had decided that it was not legally able to cancel the termination payouts of former CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two other senior executives. The issue of Juukan Gorge was not raised by British shareholders, although it is likely to receive attention at the Australian leg of Rio Tinto’s annual general meeting on 6 May.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Shipping victims win huge payouts

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 28-Feb-19

Teekay Shipping has confirmed that it has retrenched the last crewmembers of two bulk carriers that had been chartered to ship iron ore from BHP’s mines in the Pilbara to BlueScope’s Port Kembla steelworks. Teekay is believed to have paid 51 workers more than $9m in redundancy payments on 7 February, with each worker receiving an average of $176,000. The ships were the last two iron ore vessels operating in Australian waters that were manned by local crews. Labor has flagged plans to re-regulate the shipping industry to protect local jobs.

CORPORATES
TEEKAY SHIPPING CORPORATION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE AND POWER ENGINEERS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Huge taxpayer bill

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Original article by Rob Harris, Claire Bickers
Herald Sun – Page: 4 : 11-Dec-18

Analysis shows that the pension, travel and office entitlements of former Australian prime ministers have cost taxpayers about $19m in total since 2010. Meanwhile, new figures show that the ousting of ex-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in August has cost more than $4.5m in severance pay This includes nearly $1.9m in payouts for 35 staffers who opted not to remain in the prime minister’s office following the leadership spill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

‘Human error’: News Corp salaries, redundancy entitlements emailed to staff

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Original article by Michael Evans
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 29-Nov-18

News Corp Australia has blamed human error for the leaking of confidential salary information. More than 150 News Corp staffers were inadvertently sent an email which outlined the salary packages and redundancy entitlements of several senior employees of the media group. News Corp later issued a statement advising that three of the employees named in the email are leaving or have left the media group; it also said that one of those named "remains a respected member of the team".

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Guthrie’s $800k go-away payment

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Nov-18

The ABC has confirmed that former MD Michelle Guthrie received a termination payment when she was sacked in September. Although the ABC would not state the amount Guthrie received, a newspaper has confirmed that she was paid $800,000. Guthrie, who has filed an "adverse action" claim against the ABC in the Fair Work Commission, said at the time of her dismissal that there was no justification for it, and that she had been "devastated" by the ABC’s actions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY

Myer’s executive clearance carries a $2.5m price tag

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Oct-18

Myer CEO John King has told shareholders in its latest annual report that he will spend at least two days a week in its stores. King joined the department store chain in June, since which time he has cut at least 30 staff from its management ranks. Myer’s annual report reveals that its recent culling of senior executives, which included former CEO Richard Umbers and CFO Grant Davenport, has cost it over $2.65 million in termination and other payments.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV

Casual hours to count in redundancy

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 23 : 17-Aug-16

The full bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled that permanent employees who were initially hired as casual staff should have the latter period of service recognised in a termination payout. The FWC had ruled earlier in 2016 that redundancy payments at engineering and shipbuilding firm Forgacs should be based only on an employee’s period of permanent employment. However, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has succeeded in having the ruling overturned on appeal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, FORGACS ENGINEERING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, ASC PTY LTD

Top 100 company CEOs now scraping by on $4.8m a year

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 : 18-Sep-14

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors has released data showing that the CEOs of Australia’s top 100 companies received an average salary of $A4.84m in 2013. The remuneration of CEOs has fallen to its lowest level since 2003, although it remains 63 times average earnings. The survey, which was carried out by Ownership Matters, also shows that termination payouts for CEOs averaged $A1.83m in 2013, compared with $A3.8m in 2008

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ