What are the principles which the Fair Work Commission applies when assessing compensation for unfair dismissal.

“In undertaking this task, I shall use the established methodology for assessing compensation in unfair dismissal cases which was set out in Sprigg v Paul Licensed Festival Supermarket 83 and applied and elaborated upon in the context of the current Act by Full Benches of the Commission in a number of cases.84 The approach to calculating compensation in accordance with these authorities is as follows:

Step 1: Estimate the remuneration the employee would have received, or have been likely to have received, if the employer had not terminated the employment (remuneration lost).

Step 2: Deduct monies earned since termination.

Step 3: Discount the remaining amount for contingencies.

Step 4: Calculate the impact of taxation to ensure that the employee receives the actual amount he or she would have received if they had continued in their employment.

Step 5: Apply the legislative cap on compensation.”

Hill v Fortis Products Pty Ltd T/A Colorguard Steel  (2019) FWC 5567  delivered 9 August 2019 per Saunders DP