Case study · Settlement deeds

She settled at conciliation, then refused to sign the paperwork

Claim dismissed: settlement bindsFair Work Commission · 18 May 2022

A young woman on her couch deletes a video on her phone beside a settlement agreement with one clause crossed out.

Kellin Behrendorff lodged an unfair dismissal claim against JB HiFi on 31 December 2021. At a conciliation with a Commission staff conciliator in February 2022, the claim apparently settled, and JB HiFi was to put the agreement in writing.

The written agreement arrived on 17 February 2022. It provided for a payment of $2,137.76 gross, for her termination to be recorded as a resignation, and for her to delete her social media posts about the company. It also included a restraint: she would not work anywhere in the JB HiFi group again. She replied that this 'was never discussed' and that she would not sign until it was removed. JB HiFi said the clause was standard and refused to take it out.

Ms Behrendorff wrote to the Commission several times, saying no agreement had been reached. The Commissioner asked her for a statement about what was said at the conciliation and offered a hearing. She did not provide the evidence or take up the hearing, so the matter was decided on the written material.

The Commission found that a settlement had been reached at the conciliation, and that the parties meant to record it in writing 'in a fuller form but without any differing effect'. The dispute was now about the wording of the document, not about whether her claim had settled. A later disagreement over the written terms did not undo the deal, and the settlement brought her claim to an end. Her application was dismissed. She could still collect the money by signing.

What it means for you

An agreement reached at conciliation can bind you before anything is signed. Before you say yes, ask what else will be in the written document, or make your agreement subject to signing a formal deed.

Kellin Behrendorff v JB HiFi [2022] FWC 953

A published decision of the Fair Work Commission, retold in plain English. Lawcaptain did not act in this case. Every outcome depends on its own facts. General information, not legal advice about your situation.

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