Outsourcing Under Threat Once Again? Gribbles’ Case Explored

By Jason Harris

The importance of the Gribble case is its expansion of successor provision to cover situations where there is no direct relationship between the former and the latter employers.

The case did not actually involve an outsourcing arrangement. It involved one employer vacating premises and a new employer starting up exactly the same business soon after. The author argues that the Federal Court's broad interpretation of the successor provisions will have significant ramifications for outsourcing arrangements with the effect that the financial viability now lies under a cloud of uncertainty.

(Employment Law Bulletin. Vol. 9, no. 5)