A judge has blasted lawyers over delays in the distribution of a $35 million payout to Qantas workers illegally sacked during the Covid-19 pandemic.Six years on, some 1820 Qantas ground-handling and fleet-presentation workers are still battling to receive their payments, after the airline made them redundant at the height of the pandemic..Federal Court Justice Michael Lee on Thursday slammed the delay, saying some were likely crying out for their compensation payment, while describing their mental health impacts and, in some cases, relationship breakdowns.“It has gone on for too long,” he said. Justice Lee decided to reorganise payments of the settlement amount according to the tenure of each affected Qantas worker.“I’m satisfied that I should draw a line in the sand today … it is unfair for the workers to wait any longer than absolutely necessary,” he told the court. “A man in his sixties being let go from his job with no prospect of employment … when compared to a young worker in his 30s who is more likely to obtain employment … my intuitive feeling is that it would be fairer to pay the penalties in a way which has regard to this consideration.”“The realistic choice is approximate methods that (are) prompt.”This comes after the Federal Court was told there were severe administrative delays in distributing the settlement funds – which Justice Lee was only alerted to in July. The payments to sacked workers were initially being calculated through a process of assessing economic and non-economic means. The latter involved categorising workers across six bands of intensity and first step involved an online questionnaire created by a psychiatrist to determine harm. Around 600 people then needed to attend medical examinations which were facilitated through an independent medical examiner. However, almost half way through 2026, a reviewing barrister flagged 111 out of 600 completed reports contained insufficient detail to properly assess non-economic loss. The administrator of the settlement funds chose to trust the barrister’s assertion and decided examinations would need to be re-done. Justice Lee criticised the administrator and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers for failing to approach the court earlier for directions.A 43-year-old affected worker appeared before the court to make orally submission and argue for his version of the “quickest, easiest and fairest way” to divide the remaining settlement fund. “My personal view is that the outstanding fine money … should be split equally amid all affected workers,” the worker said. “This was going to be my career and I envisaged working well into the future in my (Qantas) position.” Ultimately, Justice Lee made the decision for the settlement to be distributed according to the number of years each employee worked at the company, prior to being illegally sacked. The legal battle between the Transport Worker’s Union (TWU) and Qantas was a landmark case in which the largest employer penalty in Australian corporate history was issued in 2024. Read related topics:Qantas