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A community legal service is defending an unfair dismissal claim brought by a principal legal officer who acted outside of the service’s scope by representing a man charged with child-related offences.
The Fair Work Commission will next month hear an unfair dismissal dispute between a veteran lawyer and a Queensland community legal centre that specialises solely in family law for Aboriginal people.
He was dismissed for representing a person charged with the alleged indecent dealing of a child under 16, which fell outside the centre’s scope and allegedly had the potential to put its funding at risk.
The centre also cited failure to comply with time requirements, performing work for another firm during contracted hours, and approval of a WorkCover claim without authority as reasons for dismissal.
In an application before commissioner Jennifer Hunt this month, the legal centre applied to have legal representation at the hearing.
In addition to determining whether there was a funding risk, the centre said there were other complex issues to consider, and neither its CEO nor chair of the board of directors is a practising solicitor or has any prior experience or expertise in employment law.
The lawyer said there is no such complexity attached to the matter that would warrant the engagement of solicitors or counsel.
He added the centre already used legal services in the preparation of its defence, so engagement of legal practitioners at this stage “would not enable the matter to be dealt with more efficiently”.
However, Hunt said the reasons for the dismissal were complex and may require detailed cross-examination of the lawyer, particularly in relation to his time and attendance at the other law firm.
While noting he has more than 40 years of experience, the commission said it would afford the lawyer “all necessary and appropriate assistance” during the hearing to ensure procedural fairness.
