A federal court judge has dismissed a bid to have Qantas workers paid sick leave during the coronavirus crisis.
Some 20,000 Qantas workers stood down in mid-March have been able to legally access some entitlements, including annual leave, but have been prevented from accessing sick, carers and compassionate leave.
The company’s position on Monday was backed by Justice Geoffrey Flick.
He agreed with Qantas that the stand-down power served two important purposes; offering businesses financial relief and protecting workers from termination.
Allowing staff to access sick leave while lawfully stood down because there was no work would “go against the very object and purpose of conferring those entitlements – namely an entitlement to be relieved from the work which the employee was otherwise required to perform”, Flick said.
“If there is no work available to be performed by the employee, there is no income and no protection against that which has not been lost.”
The judge said to expose Qantas to a liability to pay leave entitlements after lawfully standing down workers would defeat one of the purposes of the move – namely to protect the employer against such claims.
The Transport Workers’ Union said it was looking to appeal the decision.
“The ruling is bitterly disappointing for Qantas workers battling serious illnesses and their families, who are enduring worries about their finances at a difficult time in their lives,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement.
“This is about justice and the fact that workers who are battling serious illnesses should be allowed to draw down the significant sick leave they have accrued through years of hard work at Qantas.”
The Australian Workers’ Union said one worker has heart failure while another is caring for his wife, who had a stroke, and their six-month-old baby.
“It is absolutely shameful that during this crisis Qantas is putting corporate greed over worker welfare and refusing to let its workers access their sick leave,” AWU national secretary Dan Walton said.
Qantas said workers had been able to access long service leave early and draw on up to four weeks of annual leave in advance.
“The court has confirmed that employees who are stood down are not eligible to receive paid sick leave because there is no work to be absent from,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“Employees can still access annual leave, long service leave and other support including the government’s jobkeeper payments.”