Often the best protection employees can have at work are the wages, conditions and entitlements set out in our collective enterprise agreements, which are painstakingly negotiated by our union.
For FSU member Nita Thakrar, it was her enterprise agreement that helped overturn her manager’s decision to deny her a redundancy package after 31 years of loyal service.
After taking a 12-month career break from Bankwest, Nita was assigned a temporary position upon her return, which was later made redundant.
Little did Nita realise that the letter she had signed prior to her career break included a clause that disqualified her from any redundancy package, and that it was up to her to find a new position within 12 weeks upon her return.
Nita described the entire debacle as incredibly confusing and frustrating.
“I was put into a temporary role when I came back to work, because the portfolio I was looking after as Relationship Manager was shut down.
“Not long after, I started getting emails from the General Manager about redundancies and redeployment, which kept saying our People Manager would get in touch to explain options, but mine never did.”
Nita decided not to apply for any of the new roles being advertised because she wanted to take the redundancy, which she assumed she would be entitled to.
After a period with no communication, Nita contacted her manager only to be informed that day would be her last at the bank – and was told she wouldn’t be eligible for any redundancy package.
“I couldn’t believe it – I was shocked and upset because nobody had bothered to communicate with me.
“He said I needed to look at the form I signed, and that he could give me a two-week extension, after which my service with the bank was finished.”
After three decades of service with the bank, receiving this news was a slap in the face for Nita.
That’s when Nita decided to call our union for support.
“I was extremely angry and wrote an email to my manager, which expressed my disappointment with how I’d been treated,” said Nita.
“Before sending it, I got my FSU Advocate to review it, and I also CC’d her in so the bank would know I was involving the union.”
That email resulted in a further extension to find a position, though still no movement on the issue of redundancy or severance pay.
“So I went back to the FSU and told them I’d be needing their help if I couldn’t get a position by the deadline, as I was prepared to fight them on this.”
Upon closer inspection, the FSU discovered that the original letter Nita had signed 18 months ago was incorrect. It applied to a level 3 role, despite Nita being employed as a level 2 – a big difference, given level 2 roles were covered by the Enterprise Agreement, whereas level 3 roles were not. Importantly, the EA stated it was the responsibility of Bankwest to find Nita a suitable position when she returned to work, not the other way around.
The FSU made representations to Bankwest on Nita’s behalf, declaring the letter was incorrect, and therefore it didn’t matter that Nita had signed it.
“Management later came back to me and said they’d reconsidered my case and that I was entitled to a redundancy,” said Nita.
In a final twist, Nita was also offered one of the roles she had earlier applied for.
“I turned it down. With the way I was treated, I told them I was done.”
For over 20 years Nita had been an FSU member, yet this was the first time she’d called on her union for such a major issue.
“It just shows that you never know when you might need to call on your union.
“It does help when you know you’ve got someone to talk to when you need it.”
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