Prawn farm ordered to pay former worker early long service leave under little-known law

A North Queensland mum has won a fight with her former employer to be paid her long service leave entitlements two years early, under a little-known law.

Seafarms Group prawn farm in Cardwell, Queensland has been ordered to pay a former employee her long service leave entitlements. Image: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg

A Far North Queensland prawn farm has been ordered to pay a former accountant her accrued long service leave even though she voluntarily resigned and only worked for the company for eight years.

The decision from the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, published yesterday, found Sarah Mann was entitled to the $16,000 payment from her former employer Seafarms Queensland, an aquaculture company based in Cardwell, north of Townsville.

Ms Mann claimed she was entitled to her accrued long service entitlements in line with a clause under the Industrial Relations Act (Qld), after she resigned to care for her son.

The law stated employees which worked with an employer for at least seven years and resigned for a “domestic or other pressing necessity” were entitled to the proportion of long service leave they had earned.

However, Seafarms Queensland disputed her application, stating she had resigned because of bullying in the workplace.

Ms Mann worked with the company for just over eight years, accruing almost 280 hours of long service leave, valued at $16,377.43.

Although she had relocated with her family to Cairns, she worked in Cardwell three days a week and for the two remaining days she would work from home.

According to the QIRC decision, her husband suffered a brain aneurysm in 2020, while her son had difficulties at school and had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

“The care of my child and the ability to focus on their needs every day and ensure that they were safe at school, could attend school each day and participate actively at school with their peers was the domestic necessity that I faced at the time of my resignation,” she said.

The decision was heard in Cairns.

Her initial resignation letter was dated September 2022, but she said she delayed her exit after the company’s chief financial officer offered a retention amount of $50,000 if she stayed through the Christmas period until February 2023.

Seafarms Group CFO Ian Leijer said Ms Mann stated in her resignation letter she was leaving due to her inability to interact with staff.

Earlier that month, she had complained about being bullied by the manager, he said.

However, an excerpt of the letter also stated, “The current situation being experienced from the Hatchery manager is not allowing me to look after my family the way I should.”

According to the QIRC decision, the letter further said her son needed more of her time due to his condition.

Mr Leijer said the company granted Ms Mann two weeks leave after her initial resignation, to de-stress.

He added the company had accommodated Ms Mann moving to Cairns and working remotely due to family reasons, as well as allowing her to work after hours at times when she needed to attend school meetings.

The court heard Ms Mann emailed Mr Leijer in February 2023, after the extension period ended, confirming she was resigning due to “intolerable working conditions”.

Cardwell, Australia. Photo: Alamy Escape

In an attached letter, Ms Mann stated the decision was due to a “number of incidents in the workplace which have occurred over an extended period and have not been resolved satisfactorily”.

“During the last 6-12 months, I have been subjected to multiple incidents of bullying and harassment when on site in Cardwell.

“Notably, I made a complaint of bullying and harassment which was proven on investigation.”

Former Seafarms Group HR manager Annie Thomas said she wasn’t aware of Ms Mann’s family matters playing into her resignation and that she only knew about the claims of bullying.

The company also argued Ms Mann had not asserted her resignation was for a domestic reason until 20 months after she stopped working with Seafarms.

Ms Mann told the court the bullying issues from management were a factor in her decision, but she was primarily motivated by her son and issues related to his schooling.

She also contended the Industrial Relations Act does not require staff to tell their employers about their domestic necessity at the time of resignation.

Peter O’Neill, a commissioner with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission said he was satisfied her son and his schooling were the primary reason she resigned.

He added: “I am satisfied that a reasonable person standing in the shoes of Ms Mann as a parent... would have made the decision to terminate their employment in order to be available to provide greater care”.

Seafarms Queensland was ordered to pay Ms Mann her accrued long service leave entitlements of $16,377.43 within 21 days.

Originally published as Prawn farm ordered to pay former worker early long service leave under little-known law