Russell v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Archdiocese of Sydney

(2008) 72 NSWLR 559; [2008] NSWCA 217

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Employment Law
2. › Termination of employment
3. › Wrongful dismissal
4. › Damages
5. › Whether damages for distress, humiliation, injury to feelings or loss of reputation recoverable for breach of employment contract
6. › Whether rule in Addis v Gramophone Co Ltd applies
1. Employment Law
2. › Implied terms
3. › Good faith, mutual trust and confidence
4. › Scope and content of implied term
5. › Whether breach established by conduct of internal investigation
6. › Whether telephone interview rather than face-to-face interview constituted breach
1. Damages
2. › Mitigation
3. › Costs of separate proceedings as mitigation
4. › Whether costs of Industrial Relations Commission unfair dismissal proceedings recoverable as mitigation of loss from wrongful dismissal
5. › Whether statutory limitation on costs recovery in IRC precludes recovery as damages in separate proceedings
6. › Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW), s 181(2)(c)
1. Damages
2. › Remoteness
3. › Hadley v Baxendale principles
4. › Whether adverse publicity causally connected to failure to give reasonable notice
5. › Whether costs of public relations consultant recoverable

Quick Take

Damages for distress, humiliation, injury to feelings and loss of reputation remain irrecoverable for wrongful dismissal under the Addis rule, and this cannot be circumvented by framing the claim as breach of an implied term of good faith where the loss flows from the dismissal itself. Costs incurred in Industrial Relations Commission unfair dismissal proceedings cannot be recovered as damages for wrongful dismissal, either as mitigation or otherwise, where the statutory scheme precludes costs recovery in that jurisdiction. The implied term of good faith in employment contracts, to the extent it exists in Australian law, does not require an employer conducting an internal investigation into child sexual abuse allegations to conduct face-to-face rather than telephone interviews of witnesses.