NATIONAL: Escada Australia has escaped relatively unscathed from a Fair Work Australia hearing instigated by a former employee seeking remedy for his redundancy.
The luxury retailer underwent a local restructure in 2010/11 following the resignation of its then regional manager and the loss of its wholesale account with David Jones.
As part of the restructure, retail and marketing manager Jamil Maswan was made redundant, while former Versace employee Rebecca Jackes was appointed to the newly created role of brand manager. Maswan took the matter to Fair Work Australia, seeking remedy for unfair dismissal.
Fair Work Australia’s vice president Graeme Watson determined earlier this month that Escada’s decision to make Maswan’s position redundant was not “harsh, unjust or unreasonable”.
“Escada decided to merge the Regional Manager and Retail/Marketing Manager’s roles into the single position of Brand Manager for operational reasons,” Watson said.
“It is an accepted principle that where two jobs are merged into a single position … the merger has the effect of eliminating the previous positions.”
He did take issue however with Escada’s lack of “meaningful consultation” with Maswan about his employment change, as required by the Fair Work Act.
“The reality is however that Escada decided to advertise for a merged job via its recruitment agency, appoint a successful candidate and wait until Ms Jackes commenced her employment before it informed Mr Maswan of any of its intentions, even though he was directly affected by these changes,” Watson said.
Even so, Watson said the lack of consultation did not render the dismissal unfair, and Maswan’s application was dismissed.
Escada currently operates one retail boutique in Australia, in Westfield Sydney, and has four wholesale accounts nationwide. David Jones had previously represented 40 per cent of its local wholesale business.
Escada’s head office is based in Germany and the fashion, accessories and fragrance business operates in over 80 countries worldwide.
Erin O’Loughlin