Ridd v. James Cook University

Lower Court Judgment

22/07/2020; 31/07/2020 Federal Court of Australia (Griffiths, Rangiah and SC Derrington JJ)

[2020] FCAFC 123; [2020] FCAFC 132

Catchwords

Industrial law – Enterprise agreement – Where applicant employed as professor by respondent under James Cook University Enterprise Agreement (“EA”) – Where EA cl 14 protected right to intellectual freedom and specified limits – Where respondent has Code of Conduct and in cl 13, parties to EA expressed commitment to Code – Where cl 54 provided disciplinary action could only be taken for “misconduct” or “serious misconduct” – Where “serious misconduct” included breach of Code – Where respondent took disciplinary action against applicant on basis applicant breached Code by failure to act in collegial manner and to uphold integrity and good reputation of respondent – Where applicant successfully brought proceedings in Federal Circuit Court alleging respondent contravened EA because he could not be disciplined for conduct protected under cl 14 – Where respondent successfully appealed to Full Court of the Federal Court – Whether applicant’s conduct protected by cl 14 – Whether, on proper construction of EA, cl 14, 13 and Code should be read together – If so, whether cl 13 qualifies cl 14 or vice versa.