Network Ten’s former executive producer of entertainment has lost her three-year court battle seeking almost $400k in allegedly unpaid redundancy payments.
Cost-cutting efforts saw Maria Michael made redundant from the network in May 2020 after several decades at the company.
Three months later, she filed a Federal Court claim, alleging Ten breached the Fair Work Act by giving her severance pay equating to 12 weeks when she was entitled 90 weeks’ pay, equaling $393,371.10.
That was after she was paid slightly more than $255,000 by way of various termination entitlements.
Three years on from the claim’s filing, Justice John Snaden has struck it out, finding Ten was not obliged to pay her the amount her lawyers sought.
According to the judgment which was published online, Ms Michael had argued her employment was covered by an enterprise agreement which provided for more generous severance pay entitlements than what she was awarded when she was dismissed.
That’s because she claimed she performed “hand on tasks” that constituted the role of “Producer” under the Award, going beyond her role of “Executive Producer – Entertainment”.
Under her official role, Ms Michael was responsible for managing the production of several television programs and maximising Ten’s audience share alongside the other members of the executive production team.
Among the shows she worked on were Bondi Rescue, Family Feud, The Loop, The Living Room, Bondi Vet, Pointless and Celebrity Name Game, and Survivor’s companion program, Talking Tribal.
According to the judgment, Ms Michael also undertook various production tasks, due to her extensive practical experience in the industry.
“In those respects, she operated outside the classical boundaries of Network 10’s other executive producers, who typically did not undertake ‘hands-on’ work of that nature,” the judgment read.
But it ultimately found Ms Michael’s main duties made up a role of “significant seniority and importance to the production of Network 10’s broadcast content”.
Justice Snaden therefore found her role did not form the role of “producer” under the Award which could have entitled her to 90 weeks worth of redundancy pay after more than 30 years working with the company.
“The Enterprise Agreement did not cover—and, therefore, did not apply to—Ms Michael’s employment with Network 10,” he ruled.
“Network 10 was not obliged to pay her by way of severance an amount calculated in accordance with cl 13 of the Enterprise Agreement. Its failure or refusal to do so was not … in contravention of the FW Act”.
The judgment stated Ms Michael’s total remuneration for the financial year to 30 June 2019 — including bonuses — appeared to be roughly $300,000.
The star producer was just one of about 30 staff who were kicked off the channel as revenues collapsed in amid the Covid-19 pandemic, though Ten’s boss Beverley McGarvey told staff in an email the move was “part of (their) broader strategy, not a reaction to recent events”.
In dismissing Ms Michael’s application, Justice Snaden noted the Fair Work Act “likely prohibits the court from making any award of costs”.
“But, in the event that there might be some as-yet-unventilated reason to think otherwise, an application for costs may be made on notice in the usual way,” he wrote.
“In the meantime, there shall be no order on that front”.