The high income threshold under the Fair Work Act 2009 is the minimum rate of annual earnings which can exclude access to unfair dismissal claims and is also relevant to the application of modern awards.
Until yesterday, the high income threshold was set at $108,300 (excluding superannuation). However the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations advised on 29 June 2010 that the threshold would increase to $113,800 (excluding superannuation) effective from 1 July 2010.
Employers seeking to remunerate their employees in order to avoid access to unfair dismissal remedies or preclude a modern award from applying will need to account for this threshold increase.
In order to achieve this aim, an employer will be required to pay an employee $113,800 (excluding superannuation) or more. Additionally, if a modern award covers the employee, a written guarantee of annual earnings for an amount no less than the new high income threshold must also be given by the employer in order to exclude a modern award from applying.
The maximum amount of compensation payable to a successful unfair dismissal claimant will also rise to $56,900 (based on 26 weeks of ordinary earnings) from 1 July 2010.
For futher infomation on anything in this alert please contact the authors:
Jim Rutherford
Principal and Accredited Specialist in Workplace Relations Law
03 5226 8579
jrutherford@harwoodandrews.com.au
Rohan Kux
Lawyer
03 5226 8564
rkux@harwoodandrews.com.au